But they do mask the quality of other ingredients -- note the Frenchman's comment above.
Adding enough sex to a movie will teeter it into pornography, but that doesn't mean it's unenjoyable.
And I'm not convinced most heat-lovers add it to the point where they cannot taste anything.
I live in Mexico where I suppose most people are part of the mediocre herd that Safety1stClyde so insists he's not, yet the people I know reaching for the hotter salsas have a tolerance to the milder ones. Suggesting that it's "to look cool" is petty.