US FDA pushes ahead with move to ban menthol cigarettes to prevent youth initiation

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States have decided to ban sales of menthol-flavoured cigarettes in an attempt to reduce smoking in the general population.

The menthol cigarettes are considered to be one of the most hazardous smoking products in the market and with the increasing cases of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, this move was imminent.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Menthol cigarettes are extremely popular among smokers because of the cooling effect of menthol and as it is not harsh like normal tobacco products, the addiction rate is also quite high. As a result, they make up one third of the US cigarette market which is valued currently at roughly $80 billion.

Banning them “would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” Xavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary told New York Times.

The entire process is expected to take around a year to be completed and the initial plan will be published on May 4 as a proposed regulation. However, it can get delayed due to impending legal battles with tobacco companies who have already expressed their displeasure with the decision.

“The scientific evidence shows no difference in the health risks associated with menthol cigarettes compared to non-menthol cigarettes, nor does it support that menthol cigarettes adversely affect initiation, dependence or cessation. As a result, we do not believe the published science supports regulating menthol cigarettes differently from non-menthol cigarettes,” Kingsley Wheaton, the chief marketing officer of British American Tobacco, the leading seller of menthol cigarettes, said.

WATCH |US Capitol riot probe: House committee to hold open hearings