Should Menthol Cigarettes Be Banned?
SodaHead News
2011/03/21 21:00:00
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Menthol cigarettes aren't more addictive than regular cigarettes but they could still be banned.
A federal advisory panel report said removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health, according to The New York Times. But the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, possibly worried about litigation with tobacco companies, didn't recommend to the Food and Drug Administration that it restrict or ban the additive.
While no scientific evidence showed that menthol smokers inhaled more toxins or had an increased risk of disease compared with other smokers, there was evidence that the availability of menthol cigarettes made smoking more attractive to young people, African-Americans and other groups because the flavor was less harsh.
"This is the most conclusive scientific finding that menthol cigarettes dramatically increase youth tobacco use and make it more difficult for African-Americans to quit," Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told the Times. "It creates a scientific record which compels F.D.A. to act."
Menthol was first added to cigarettes in the 1920s. Congress banned candy, fruit and spice flavoring in tobacco products but declined to take on menthols. It gave the F.D.A. broad authority to regulate the products in 2009.
The cigarettes are a multi-billion dollar industry. It accounts for more than a quarter of the $80 billion market, according to the Times. Menthols are preferred by more than 80 percent of black smokers, about 22 percent of non-Hispanic white smokers and nearly half of 12- to 17-year-old smokers, nearly 20 million smokers in all.
The F.D.A. said it would now open its own investigation and research into menthol cigarettes before deciding on what action to take.
A federal advisory panel report said removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health, according to The New York Times. But the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, possibly worried about litigation with tobacco companies, didn't recommend to the Food and Drug Administration that it restrict or ban the additive.
While no scientific evidence showed that menthol smokers inhaled more toxins or had an increased risk of disease compared with other smokers, there was evidence that the availability of menthol cigarettes made smoking more attractive to young people, African-Americans and other groups because the flavor was less harsh.
"This is the most conclusive scientific finding that menthol cigarettes dramatically increase youth tobacco use and make it more difficult for African-Americans to quit," Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told the Times. "It creates a scientific record which compels F.D.A. to act."
Menthol was first added to cigarettes in the 1920s. Congress banned candy, fruit and spice flavoring in tobacco products but declined to take on menthols. It gave the F.D.A. broad authority to regulate the products in 2009.
The cigarettes are a multi-billion dollar industry. It accounts for more than a quarter of the $80 billion market, according to the Times. Menthols are preferred by more than 80 percent of black smokers, about 22 percent of non-Hispanic white smokers and nearly half of 12- to 17-year-old smokers, nearly 20 million smokers in all.
The F.D.A. said it would now open its own investigation and research into menthol cigarettes before deciding on what action to take.
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/business/19tobac...
Top Opinion
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Beccy 2011/03/21 21:46:03
source: http://www.cigarettespub.net/...
Besides .........trying to ban 'smoking' will go the same way as Prohibition did in the 20's.
The more some idiot tries to take over and force me to march lock step with the rest of the lemmings the the more I resent it. If the half witted health Nazis had shut up , I would had quit smoking fifteen years earlier. The cigarette wars are over , it's no longer fashionable among young people , ( they prefer POT , thank you ) time to stop the cigarette crusifictions.
Picked up my first cigarette in my teens. I didn't start really smoking until I was in my 20s quite smoking in my 40s. I started (my choice); I quit (my choice) ... nobody smokes in my car or house (my choice) ... do you see the pattern here. No government interference was or is necessary. The only problem I know of with menthols is that one has a tendency to inhale deeper because it doesn't burn your throat to do so.
The government has absolutely no Constitutional right to tell me what “legal” product I can or can't consume or use. Americans whether they indulge in smoking or not should be outraged that the federal government treats them like children, eventually telling Americans that they are not adult enough to make their own choices.
This goes for salt usage, food portions, fat content and calorie count... DO YOU HERE ME MICHELLE?