via CNN

The availability of menthol-flavored cigarettes is linked to a rise in the number of children and African Americans who smoke and the cigarettes should be taken off the market, an FDA advisory committee said Friday.

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee met to evaluate the available science on the impact of menthol cigarettes on public health, including children, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other ethnic and racial minorities. The group determined menthol cigarette smokers do not have a greater risk of diseases related to smoking when compared with non-menthol cigarette smokers. But, menthol in cigarettes increased experimentation, raised the risk of progression to a regular smoker, increased smoking among kids, and their availability increased the chance of addiction–and even the degree of addiction in children.

“The TPSAC also found that the public health impact of menthol cigarette availability is substantial,” said Dr. Jonathan Samet, chair of the advisory panel. “The availability of menthol cigarettes leads to an increase in the number of cigarette smokers and the burden of premature mortality.”

“The TPSAC’s recommendation of removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States is simply that – a committee recommendation based on its review of current, prevailing science on the topic of menthol as an ingredient in cigarettes,” said Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director, Center for Tobacco Products at the Food and Drug Administration. The report will be reviewed by experts at the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, who’ll also review all of the available science related to public health implications of  menthol in cigarettes use.

Read Full Story

Article courtesy cnn.com

On Monday, the debate among African American organizations burst into the open after the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, joined ranks with the anti-smoking group, the American Legacy Foundation, in calling for a ban on menthol as a cigarette flavoring.

After decades of marketing mentholated cigarettes in minority communities and blunting criticism by supporting minority causes, the tobacco companies have secured a huge following in minority communities, where rates of smoking remain stubbornly high. As many as 80% of African American smokers favor menthols, as do 30% of Latinos. By comparison, 22% of non-Latino whites smoke mentholated cigarettes. At least one large study, published in 2009, has found that those who smoke mentholated cigarettes find it harder to kick the habit than those who smoke unflavored tobacco

Read The Whole Story

RELATED STORIES

Cigarette Makers Fight Potential Ban Of Menthols

FDA To Reignite Debate Over Menthol Cigarettes

The evolution of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. may be shaped in large part by how well it can live down — and learn from — its past.

Reynolds received another clear example of that reality last week when the Food and Drug Administration requested research on the company’s three innovative dissolvable smokeless products — Camel Orbs, Camel Sticks and Camel Strips — and others being considered.

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee was formed as part of the FDA taking on oversight of the tobacco industry last year.

Reynolds said that the flavored, finely milled tobacco products serve as an alternative to cigarettes, giving adults a discreet option in venues where smoking is banned out of concern for secondhand smoke exposure. They are being sold in three test markets, none in North Carolina.

The FDA acknowledges that Reynolds is marketing the products to adult consumers.

Read Full Story

Article courtesy Winston-Salem Journal