Mayoral campaign targets menthol

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has asked the Chicago Board of Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to undertake a series of initiatives aimed at curtailing the use of menthol cigarettes by young people in Chicago, according to a press note issued by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) through PRNewswire.

The board and the department will host a series of town hall meetings to identify innovative, community-driven strategies to reduce menthol cigarette use among young people.

In addition, the CDPH is due to launch in October a tobacco-prevention campaign that will focus on menthol cigarette use.

CTFK said the mayor’s initiative had come days after a 153-page report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had found that menthol cigarettes led to 1) increased smoking initiation among youth and young adults, 2) greater addiction and 3) decreased success in quitting smoking.