Making a strong case for ban on menthol cigarettes

[The Straight Story]

Making a strong case for ban on menthol cigarettes


Last March an expert panel convened by the US Food and Drug Administration said a ban on menthol cigarettes -- which account for 30 percent of cigarette sales -- would benefit public health. All other cigarette flavorings have been banned by the FDA, but the agency still hasn't made a decision about menthol.

Three new studies published online yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health, though, might spur the agency to ban the flavoring: One study finds that Americans generally support the ban -- even those who currently smoke menthols; another shows that smokers of menthols are less successful at quitting than those who smoke non-menthols; and the third estimated that if a menthol ban were initiated today, it would result in 633,000 lives saved by 2050 (based on 30 percent of current menthol users quitting and a lower smoker initiation rate).


Menthols have been a heated source of controversy ever since news reports revealed that they were given away free to black children in the 1960s. That tobacco industry marketing campaign worked: Some 83 percent of current African-American smokers say they choose menthols compared with 24 percent of white smokers.

In addition to providing a minty taste, "menthol numbs the throat and allows smoke to go in more deeply, making it easier to get addicted to," explains Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children who led one of the new studies, which surveyed more than 2,000 people to measure support for a menthol ban.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blog/dailydose/2011/05/making_a_strong.html

Stock up on menthol, prohibition is going to make some underground menthol cig sellers wealthy.

[ZombieHorde]

1. Divide and conquer. nt

[provis99]

2. banning soft drinks, fatty foods, and alcohol would be healthy too.

Heck, lets ban automobiles; it will encourage the fat asses in the country to bicycle more. Lets ban tv and video games too! Also comic books! Just as long as we keep our guns...

[DJ13]

3. Thats stupid

N/M

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Separate flavors adders, such as a cigarette holder are easy and may be outside FDA purview