FDA can use menthol report, after all

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) right to use its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s (TPSAC) menthol report.

The ruling overturns a lower court’s 2014 ruling prohibiting the FDA from using the report.

The TPSAC report concluded that menthol cigarettes are no more or less toxic than are regular cigarettes, but the flavor’s cooling and anesthetic properties reduce the harshness of cigarette smoke, thereby increasing their appeal to new smokers.

Morgan Stanley said the ruling increases the FDA’s “flexibility around the menthol issue,” but expected menthol regulation to remain a “gradual and manageable process” with the industry retaining its ability to challenge any ultimate menthol rule on the grounds of bias or insufficient scientific evidence.