Not menthol-menthol (to paraphrase Whoopi-Whoopi) but the same function as menthol, to lower the harshness of the tobacco smoke.
Still, good to know, I may try growing some here in the high desert.
I don’t know how well it will do in that environment-but if you plant it in good soil away from a Western exposure-but plenty of sunshine-and water it every day a bit in Summer, it will probably do okay-it does freeze as soon as the temp goes into the high 20’s, so if you want to have it to use in food all year, put it in a really big pot and greenhouse it in Winter. It blooms in September here-pretty little orange flowers...