DESPITE health warnings about smoking, about 5.8 trillion cigarettes were smoked worldwide in 2014.

Common “flavors” like menthol, light, mild or ultra (or red) of cigarettes were even made more “appetizing” to smokers with the advent of vape. Many thought these “flavors” of cigarettes would reduce one’s health risks from smoking.

Menthol is among the most popular flavors. It has lured many to smoke even more thinking that the cooling sensation would help them avoid the toxic nicotine as they puff and inhale the substance. Actually, they are equally exposed to harmful substances as people smoking regular cigarettes – they’re just noticing it less which can be more harmful in and of itself.

On the other hand, a new study showed that inhaling menthol could reduce cognitive decline.

Spanish researchers found that the substance in cigarettes, candy, and other mint-flavored goods lowered levels of proteins that caused Alzheimer’s-related brain swelling in mice.

It is a rare study that found a potential benefit in smoking. However, doctors would prefer to eat or chew mints or sniff other menthol-flavored goods instead.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 14 percent of Alzheimer’s cases worldwide could potentially be attributed to smoking.

Smoking has long been shown to increase the risks of cognitive decline related to Alzheimer’s.

It does this by increasing the risk of vascular problems, including strokes and brain bleeds, which are risk factors for Alzheimer’s. Additionally, the toxins in cigarette smoke and inflame and stress cells.

The study, which was performed on mice and published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, found that repeatedly smelling the substance, even briefly, can prevent cognitive deterioration, a side effect of Alzheimer’s onset.

The aroma lowered levels of interleukin-1-beta, a protein that impacts the body’s inflammatory response.

Menthol is often used as flavoring in foods, liquors, cosmetics, and perfumes aside from cigarettes. Menthol was added to tobacco in the 1920s and 1930s to reduce the harshness of cigarette smoke and nicotine irritation, according to the American Lung Association. It also gives them a minty flavor.

In the new study, researchers examined the effects of menthol on male and female mice for six months. They found that the aroma lowered levels of the protein interleukin-1-beta. This led to less inflammation in the brain, a marker of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers then gave the mice memory tests and found that their cognitive abilities had improved.

The new study comes a year after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced moves to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in the US, as well as flavored cigars.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a group of diseases that mark progressive and permanent cognitive decline.

It impedes functions like thinking, remembering, and reasoning. Alzheimer’s accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates.