Cigarettes themselves began as a "less harmful" way of consuming tobacco, with all the included filters, cough medicine, the messaging about how "smooth" they are, and then menthol as a last twist, all to get people as addicted as possible ("got a sore throat? try a cigarette!"... it will calm your throat while you smoke it, then leave it even more irritated... so maybe you smoke another one).
BTW, menthol cigarettes have been banned in the EU since 2020 (should have been 2016, but whatever). TIL they aren't yet in the US... but then again, guess not much of a surprise there.