Potential Ban On Menthol Cigarettes Gets Big Tobacco's Attention

UPDATE: Advisors said in a report Friday that banning menthol sales would improve public health, Reuters reports.

The Food and Drug Administration is considering limiting or even banning menthol cigarettes. An advisory panel will consider the topic and send a report and recommendation to the FDA by next week.

FDA advisors point to the fact that menthols are growingly popular with teens and minority youth in the U.S., and health advocates worry the minty flavoring could mask the tobacco, making menthols both easier to smoke and harder to quit, reports Reuters.

The tobacco industry responded today, arguing in a report to the FDA that menthol cigarettes aren't riskier than regular cigarettes.

The industry is trying to defend a lucrative business as the agency weighs whether to ban the minty flavoring.

According to a summary obtained by The Associated Press, the industry says it believes there's no scientific basis to regulate the menthol any differently. It concludes that menthol cigarettes don't make it easier for people to start, harder for them to quit or raise their risk of disease.

An FDA advisory panel meets Thursday and Friday to discuss its own report on the impact of menthol.

Comments

[lovemyaire8]

11:09 AM on 04/21/2011

I love Menthol cigarettes. I had to quit smoking for major surgery and found menthol flavor AirE8 Electronic Cigarettes are soooo REALISTIC that I do not miss my tobacco ciggs at all.

I need the flavor - the kick - and the hand to mouth action. I love my AirE8 and will never have to worry about tar other cigarette chemicals again. Go to the AirE8.com website for more info on the menthol cigarette ban.

[lioness76]

04:24 PM on 03/22/2011

If I hadn't quit last year, I would've quit upon the banning of menthols. Seems silly to ban just menthols & not regulars, though. I had no idea how much I would enjoy being a "quitter" until I actually quit. Also, I had no idea how bad I must've smelled for 20 years b/c smoking really impairs your sense of smell. Now I notice that disgusting smell even in passing cars!

[aligatorhardt]

09:19 AM on 03/20/2011

Another phony action by the FDA. Are they requiring the disclosure of tobacco additives? People are not addicted to menthol. There are no addicts of clove cigarettes. Why not ban nicotine content, or set a limit on it. What other addictive substances are in cigarettes? The FDA needs to do it's job and find out what is in cigarettes that make them more addictive than cigars and pipe tobacco. It is not menthol that is addictive.

[VJSleight]

11:32 AM on 03/29/2011

In the bill that gives authority to regulate tobacco products, to the FDA, it specifically states the FDA is NOT allowed to ban nicotine. The report is not saying that menthol is addictive, what it says is that about 50% of kids smoke menthols when they start and later switch to regular. The advisory board recommended banning menthol because the end effect would be that less children start smoking which would lower future health costs and deaths due to smoking.

[HealthyYou]

02:56 PM on 03/18/2011

I know some studies show the menthol additive is extra detrimental to a person but I think you are kidding yourself if you think switching from menthol cigs to regular flavored cigs is doing much for your health. For more earth-shattering health info and tips check out this amazing blog: http://blog.mydiscoverhealth.com/

[billy tk]

02:05 AM on 03/18/2011

Apparently, they will need to ban Marlboro of all types or make their packaging only white with black text. When I made the mistake of beginning to smoke it was the "ease" of walking in and saying "give me a pack of reds" with confidence to convince whatever dishonest business man or couldn't give a s*** high school minimum wage earner to hand me a pack of cigarettes without asking for ID. I lived in suburbia, so apparently I can go to hell.

True story - after smoking for 3 years and becoming a bartender I switched to menthol cigarettes because when a customer would ask me for one, I would offer and they would immediately refuse saying "oh I don't like menthol". Great, I didn't have to buy 5 packs a night to support tipping customers' habits.

This ban is ridiculous. Banning menthol cigarettes as a "gateway" is like banning vanilla ice cream because it is a "gateway" to brownie cookie dough double fudge ice cream. Grow a pair Washington and either ban tobacco use and/or make the sale to underage children carry a penalty to match all sales of "synthetic marijuana" which has now been made into a felony. Synthetic marijuana doesn't have half the chemicals of cigarettes. If they recognize how horrible that product is, recognize a product proven to be extremely deadly and require anyone who sells tobacco to be 21 and make them a felon if they dare sell to a minor.

[Under Fed yet Fed Up]

09:14 PM on 03/17/2011

Listening to the verbal diarrhea coming out of Washington DC causes stress and is bad for your health. We should ban all politicians from speaking.

[Felibar]

08:20 PM on 03/17/2011

How about less government involvement? Believe we have more problems than trying to regulate people's CHOICES. Sheesh.

[VJSleight]

11:35 AM on 03/29/2011

Smoking is not a choice but a true physical addiction, more powerful than a heroin or cocaine addiction. Nicotine hijacks the survival instinct of the brain.

[whizkid]

06:22 PM on 03/17/2011

You can take my Newports when you pull them from my cold, dead hands.

[ghostgirl21]

09:15 AM on 03/18/2011

I'm with you,whiz! Do not f@*k with the Newports!!!!!

[kayatz3]

01:54 AM on 03/21/2011

I second that.

[VJSleight]

04:32 PM on 03/17/2011

The Family smoking and prevention act that gave the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco, contained a provision that said the FDA could NOT ban tobacco. Because menthol cools the smoke (which is not the same as sucking on a mint at the same time), menthol smokers often inhale deeper and hold the smoke longer than a non-menthol user. Because of how menthol smokers differ, there are some studies that show they are more physically addicted and it is harder for them to quit.

[stape45]

04:55 PM on 03/17/2011

It's not even about the tobacco or the accompanying aroma; the real problems are with the additives. So why aren't they banning those?

[VJSleight]

05:13 PM on 03/17/2011

Menthol is an additive. The problem is the smoke from tobacco. Even without any additives, the chemicals created by burning the leaf are still cancer-causing, cancer-promoting and poisonous. Our lungs were not meant to breath in smoke--why do you think firefighters wear oxygen masks---to protect their lungs from smoke--which doesn't even come from tobacco. Smoke, of any source, damages lung tissues.

[onionboy]

06:06 PM on 03/17/2011

They are. Menthol is the additive they're starting with. The other additives, also added for flavor and/or aroma may follow one day.

[stape45]

04:21 PM on 03/17/2011

If they want to ban cigarettes, they need to start with the most harmful brands, THEN start picking and choosing, based on something nonsensical, if they must.

[sugomom]

03:30 PM on 03/17/2011

Seriously? How many people would just smoke and chew gum or suck on mints at the same time. Once again oh wise FDA, Not a good answer!

[DavidMG]

02:34 PM on 03/17/2011

I smoked 1-2 packs of Kools and Newport for 11 years. Today I have serious lung disease. Did the smoking cause it ? Go on and find out.

[Seamus Coffey]

01:28 PM on 03/17/2011

I find this to be an underhanded measure. Why not directly ban the use and sale of tobacco? It seems lawmakers are tiptoeing around the issue by going after types of cigarettes rather than the main cause.

[Thomas Murphy]

12:10 PM on 03/17/2011

They cost a FORTUNE, they kill you, they make you stink...but they sure come in a downright purty package, Hiram!

[Milliedail]

06:59 PM on 03/17/2011

So does food (except not always does it come in a purty package) and there is more spent annually on health care costs related to obesity than smoking. FDA doesn't seem to have a problem with junk food addictions, why tobacco?

[eva07]

07:13 PM on 03/17/2011

Umm, no, you can live a long life without tobacco, not so long without food..and you have the choice to eat healthy, organic etc..