I am not going to argue that smoking anything is healthy for you, including marijuana, but the studies are consistently showing that despite having elevated amounts of tar and carcinogens there is a lowered instance of head/neck carcinomas and also lung cancer with marijuana users.
Your 2 articles that actually mention mj use and lung cancer was the same study of 79 patients with only a subset thereof being marijuana users, not a very large statistical sampling to be drawing definitive correlations.
Here are a few other studies to mull over:
fisrt this one, which was sponsored by the NIDA but after the results came in they decided against publishing it:
The study looked at 611 people in Los Angeles County who developed lung cancer, 601 who developed cancer of the head or neck regions, and 1,040 people without cancer who were matched on age, gender and neighborhood.
-snip-
The heaviest smokers in the study had smoked more than 22,000 marijuana cigarettes, or joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 to 22,000 joints. Even these smokers did not have an increased risk of developing cancer. People who smoked more marijuana were not at any increased risk compared with those who smoked less marijuana or none at all.
Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use And Lung Cancer
how could this be?? research is starting to find some interesting things, the following is but one of many other studies that are starting to come out pointing to cannabinoids and potential anti-carcinogenic properties:
The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.
Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows
And while we are at it an abstract on a study of another common cancer with smokers:
Cannabinoids, constituents of marijuana smoke, have been recognized to have potential antitumor properties.
-snip-
After adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of HNSCC [Head and neck Squamous cell carcinoma]
A Population-Based Case-Control Study of Marijuana Use and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma -- Liang et al. 2 (8): 759 -- Cancer Prevention Research
There are pulmonary issues as a result of marijuana smoking for sure, but the risk of developing cancers is significantly higher with cigarettes.
Either way both are moot, the Gov. has no business dictating what adults can and cannot do to their own bodies.
Now that that tangent is done.. to directly address the topic
menthol cigarettes are a well established variant, its place in the market is primarily to satiate an existing demand, and not to create a new demand.
Menthol cigs have been around for decades, and many many adults smoke them exclusively. The flavored smokes such as say your mango or strawberry, or henessy dipped blunts, ect. place in the market is almost exclusively targeted to lure non smokers into the fold, with extra allure to a younger population.