FDA Launched a Series of Hearings on Whether to Prohibit Menthol Cigarettes

19.03.2011 [11:36]
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Baku, Mart 19 (AZERTAC). The fight over menthol cigarettes started again, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel launched a series of hearings on whether to prohibit the cigarettes. The FDA`s Committee includes nine members that are - doctors, scientists and public health experts. The committee should report until next March its menthol findings. Many research centers show that children are practically attracted by menthol cigarettes, with approximately 45 % of smokers aged 12 to 17 using them. Also the survey found that about 82.7% of black smokers give their preference to menthol cigarettes. “The cigarette producers would make you believe that there is no any proof that menthol cigarettes are more dangerous than other cigarettes, but we don`t agree,” stated Ellen Vargyas, general counsel for the American Legacy Foundation in Washington, D.C. More than 80% of African-American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes, and mainly they have the highest rates of lung cancer. Also it was found out that African-Americans with lung cancer are at a greater risk to die from lung cancer. We suppose that mainly the minty taste encourage many people to start smoking, probably by easing the harsh taste of regular cigarettes,” Vargyas said.

“We know the younger you are, the more likely that you will start smoking menthol cigarettes. We found a very strong interrelation between being a teenager smoker and menthol cigarettes,” said Vargyas. And it is not a coincidence, because tobacco manufacturers have always targeted teenagers for menthol cigarette marketing in order to attract new smokers among youth, according to U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health. The last discussion over how menthol cigarettes should be regulated was led in July, by the tobacco products advisory committee. Anti-smoking advocates declare that there is no proof that menthol cigarettes, which constitute 33.9% of the U.S. cigarette market, are less dangerous than any other cigarettes. A study from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey states that these cigarettes are more addictive, thus making it more difficult to quit.

FDA Launched a Series of Hearings on Whether to Prohibit Menthol Cigarettes

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