Posted on 04/29/2021 12:20:06 PM PDT by sodpoodle
April 29 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is proposing a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in the United States.
The announcement begins a long regulatory process, resulting in menthol cigarettes being available for about two more years even if the ban is eventually adopted. The tobacco industry is expected to challenge the decision.
The FDA decision would also ban all flavored cigars. The agency did not include menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes. Menthol is the last allowable flavor for cigarettes.
The proposed ban was prompted by a citizen petition that allows the public to request policy changes at the FDA. A court ruled in favor of a resulting lawsuit that accused the FDA of unreasonably delaying its final response to the petition asking for a ban, which was filed in 2013.
RELATED FDA faces deadline to consider banning menthol cigarettes in U.S. The agency faced a deadline of Thursday to respond
Menthol cigarettes cause more harm to Black Americans, research suggests. Black men currently have the highest rates of lung cancer in the country.
"With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom are far more likely to use these tobacco products," said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, in a press release.
RELATED FDA bans products that help teens hide vaping Dr. Richard Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the FDA has taken "a historic, lifesaving step."
"Banning menthol cigarettes will most assuredly save lives, eliminate great suffering, and reduce health care costs," he said, according to NBC News.
The lawsuit seeking the ban was filed by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and Action on Smoking and Health.
RELATED Menthol e-cigarettes contain unsafe levels of known carcinogen, study finds According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 85% of Black American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes compared to 29% of White smokers.
A spokesman for Altria, one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, said in a statement that "criminalizing menthol" would have "serious unintended consequences."
The tobacco industry has specifically marketed menthol cigarettes to Black Americans in the past, including sponsoring musical events like a jazz festival and racing teams named for the Kool brand, AATCLC co-chair Phillip Gardiner told The Washington Post.
The FDA has previously attempted to ban menthol cigarettes in the United States. Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb led the most recent failed effort in 2018.
The tobacco industry has spent millions over the years lobbying Congress to oppose a possible ban. The industry has said menthol cigarettes are no more harmful than regular cigarettes and proposed bans have drawn bipartisan opposition from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and civil rights groups.
Don’t an extremely high rate of blacks get killed by abortion? Ban abortion, then!
No it’s great!!! Most menthol smokers are Black! Even more Black votes for 2nd Term President MAGA Trump!!!
More tyranny of government! Go COS
Hell, just ban cigarettes altogether there FDA?
More Leftist over-reach......
ha, embrace the suck...
Yep. Blacks love mentol cigs and vaping.
Hmm, I never realized they had any power to regulate that kind of thing, since it’s neither food, nor a drug...
It’s a listed psychiatric “treatment” that your insurance would pay for. According to the FDA it is safe and effective.
The FDA is a total fraud.
This is such a bone-headed move I cannot fathom how smartish democrats haven't dropped a hammer on these doo-gooders and squashed this effort.
This should help bone-headed republicans who cannot seem to explain freedom and liberty.
A dip in the Vicks for that nostalgic menthol Kool experience. Peppermint Pattie as a 2nd runner-up?
UnKool.
How about Menthol Flavored Puberty Blockers?
Many, many moons ago, my wonderful mother smoked Kool Menthols. This was so long ago that I used to save up pennies to purchase an entire carton of cigarettes for $7-8. (Yes, I know, I am revealing my age). Anyway, one day, being a stupid, but curious kid, I tried to smoke one of the Kool Menthols. It was very weird, kind of like smoking a mint lozenge. Weird. When I later attempted to smoke one of my dad’s cigarettes, that was entirely different. My dad smoked Camel unfiltered. Yes, that’s correct, Camel cigarettes with absolutely no filter whatsoever. Well, one attempted puff of those was horrible. The raw smoke down my throat and windpipe was horrendous. To this day I remember how uncomfortable it was.
On the other hand, many liberal, creepozoid States fund their children’s health care with cigarette and tobacco taxes, so one could accurately state that cigarette smokers are literally funding kid’s healthcare every time they light up. Hah!
Big mistake.
Flavored pipe tobacco is already banned in some states.
With pot being legalized, this will give the dealers a replacement product to sell.
Of course next will be pot with some mint leaves ground into it.
Next, will the FDA decide what kinds of beer can be legally sold in the US?
None of their business.
i wonder if cigs manufactured on Indian reservation land will be affected by these regs? If not, i see a MASSIVE, MASSIVE black market originating with Indian-manufactured mentholated tobacco products ...
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