The majority of speakers at a public hearing on menthol cigarettes had a consistent message: Banning menthol would likely lead to a black market.
The hearing was part of a regularly scheduled Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) meeting, and of the seven people who spoke, four cautioned about the potential black market.
Ream more »
A ban on menthol in cigarettes might be an obvious way to curb kiddie smoking, but a new survey of anti-smoking regulations in Canada finds that getting tough only results in a black market of smokes that are cheaper and easier for kids to get. As the Food and Drug Administration considers a ban on menthol, cigarette makers like Lorillard, which produces Newport, have been pushing back. Ream more »
The “African Americanization” of menthol cigarettes may be coming to a halt as the Food and Drug Administration considers what, if anything, to do about menthol flavoring in efforts to reduce cigarette smoking.Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in America.According to researcher Phillip Gardiner, in the 1960s “through the use of television and other advertising media, coupled with culturally tailored images and messages, the tobacco industry ‘African Americanized’ menthol cigarettes. The tobacco industry successfully positioned mentholated products, especially Kool, as young, hip, new, and healthy,” he explained. Ream more »
I used to love getting a few packs of candy cigarettes in my Halloween bag as a youngster. Did those pretend-tobacco confections influence my later pack-a-day habit? Probably not as much as old Warner Bros. movies and the Kool-puffing juvenile delinquents I knew in high school did. Hey, everyone seemed to be smoking cigarettes in the 1960s…even Fred Flintstone.
Ream more »
The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products is considering a ban on menthol cigarettes under its authority from the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The panel will meet to discuss the possible ways to regulate menthol cigarettes and the health impact menthol has on smokers.
Should a ban be enacted NACS believes there would be many unintended consequences. The most threatening result of such a ban would be creating a black market for these popular products. Ream more »
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Tobacco companies believed that adding menthol to cigarettes made them easier for young people to smoke and sought eagerly to capitalize on it, according to testimony before the FDA’s advisory committee on tobacco products. But the panel also heard that there is little evidence indicating that menthol in cigarettes encourages an earlier start to smoking or that the additive has health risks of its own.
The agency’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has a March deadline to submit a report on menthol cigarettes to help the FDA decide whether it should regulate the products more tightly or ban them entirely. Ream more »
Americans increasingly look to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to guide them in their everyday decisions regarding the foods they eat and the drugs they take. Recently, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg reminded a drug advisory committee to “follow the science wherever it leads and the rest will fall into place.” It was a telling reminder that a science-based fact foundation is essential to the FDA’s decisions and, consequently, its mission and credibility.
Ream more »
Reason TV takes a look at a new effort by the FDA to bar menthol cigarettes in the US. It follows an already-imposed ban on menthol flavored cigarettes, including clove, chocolate, and other flavors used in some brands. No one doubts that cigarette smoking is not a healthy pastime and can be terribly addictive, but do menthols represent a larger danger than regular cigarettes? Are they really a “gateway smoke” to hook teens, or just a consumer choice that carries the same risks that have always been present? Reason argues that this is just another tactic in a larger plan to impose a Prohibition on tobacco use altogether: Ream more »
Flavored nicotine candies and mints, tobacco and moist snuff would be outlawed in Utah under a bill introduced yesterday at the state legislature. Representative Paul Ray’s bill is a stricter version of a failed proposal from earlier this year. He says it’s intended to protect children attracted to the flavors like bubblegum, grape, cherry and chocolate. Ream more »
Don’t threaten Rep. Paul Ray with a lawsuit. Earlier this year during the 2010 legislative session, the Clearfield Republican tried to ban so-called nicotine candy products — like dissolvable Camel orbs shaped like breath mints. Tobacco lobbyists threatened to sue and the bill stalled. Now Ray is back with a broader ban: He’s added flavored tobacco products, including pipe tobacco, snuff and possibly even shisha used in hookah pipes. It would exempt electronic cigarettes and nicotine products used to help people stop smoking.
Ream more »