Category: Flavors

Second Lawsuit for Menthol Inaction
U.S. health groups filed a second a second lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration for the agency’s inaction on banning menthol cigarettes. The case comes more than seven months after the FDA’s initial date for finalizing the new rule.
“The relentless and racist tobacco industry targeting has killed too many members of the Black community,” said Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, which filed the suit along with Action on Smoking and Health and the National Medical Association. “If Black lives truly matter, then we must end the sale of menthol cigarettes and do it now.”
The plaintiffs’ first lawsuit was filed on June 17, 2020. The initial complaint sought to compel the FDA to act on its earlier conclusions that removing menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health. The lawsuit asked the court to compel the FDA’s determination on whether to add menthol to the list of prohibited characterizing flavors—a determination that the FDA delayed making for over 10 years. The joint lawsuit followed the 2013 Citizen Petition from the Public Health Law Center, which called on the FDA to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes.
“We’re extremely disappointed to be forced to file this second lawsuit against the FDA in support of protecting Americans from menthol cigarettes,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, in a statement. “The FDA’s own research confirms that a menthol ban would save lives; there is no scientific reason to delay finalizing this rule.”
In 2011, the FDA’s scientific advisory committee concluded that the “Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.”
As a result of the plaintiffs’ first lawsuit, the FDA made the landmark determination to add menthol to the list of banned characterizing flavors in cigarettes. To begin that rulemaking process, the FDA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in the marketplace. In response, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their initial lawsuit.
After setting an initial date of August 2023 to issue its menthol rule, the FDA has unreasonably and unlawfully delayed this life-saving rule, according to the plaintiffs.
“As African American physicians, we are deeply disturbed at the continuing delays in FDA’s finalizing of the ban on menthol cigarettes,” said Yolanda Lawson, president of the National Medical Association. “Our patients, more than any other group, become disabled and die prematurely due to the continued use of these cigarettes,” she said.
The plaintiffs accuse the Biden Administration of falling for “disinformation and fear-mongering” by the tobacco industry. “The industry is sowing doubt and confusion and taking advantage of real issues in our country and claiming that removing menthol will harm Black lives, when just the opposite is true,” the groups wrote in a statement. “We remain disheartened to be forced to call on the Biden Administration to prioritize human life.”
April 2, 2024
Lawmakers Send Flavor Ban to Vermont Senate

Vermont lawmakers Friday approved a ban on flavored vaping and other flavored tobacco products.
S.18 would end retail sales of all flavored e-cigarettes, e-liquids, and oral nicotine pouches. The bill would also end the sale of all menthol-flavored tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, by January 1st, 2026.
The legislation, which has been debated for at least six years, faced a fierce lobbying campaign from retailers who said it would put many out of business. Some lawmakers have also balked at the loss of millions in tax revenue, according to media reports.
But supporters say the adverse health impacts on young people who get hooked on the products are just too great. Lawmakers spoke on the House floor Thursday about the extensive testimony from medical professionals, educators, parents, and members of the BIPOC community in support of the bill.
The bill will now return to the Senate, which passed a different version of the bill last year. The governor has not yet indicated if he will sign it.
March 16, 2024
Colorado Flavor Ban Bill Dies

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It happened again. For the second time in the last three sessions, a bill to regulate flavored nicotine products has died in Colorado’s General Assembly.
The proposal would have allowed a board of county commissioners to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products. The House Business Affairs & Labor Committee defeated it on a 6-5 vote, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Several lawmakers on the committee voting against the bill cited concerns about its impacts on local businesses, echoing testimony from several vape shop owners who said it would have hurt sales if a county banned flavored vaping and other tobacco products.
“We have a long history of choosing to listen to the tobacco lobby,” said bill sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, as she appealed to her colleagues before the vote. “I hope that today we can really think about the children and make sure that we do the right thing to make sure that our children don’t have access to these products that have been targeted for them.”
The measure had already passed a Senate committee and the full Senate. As has been seen in prior years, the bill drew intense lobbying, with 141 lobbyists from both sides signing up to voice support, opposition, or neutrality, according to the state’s lobbyist disclosure website.
Tobacco companies like PMI, RJ Reynolds America, and Altria, represented by the lobbying company Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, and industry groups, including the Vapor Technology Association, hired lobbyists in opposition to the legislation.
All the traditional anti-nicotine groups such as Bloomberg, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and Kaiser Permanente also hired lobbyists in support.
In 2022, a bill to ban flavored tobacco statewide failed after Gov. Jared Polis said the issue should be handled at the local level.
March 9, 2024
Senators Urge End to Flavored Vape Sales

Image: Mdv Edwards
The chairmen of five key Senate committees warned the chief executives of major convenience stores and wholesalers to stop selling illicit flavored vaping products, which they called “widespread violations of federal law,” according to The New York Times.
The senators voiced their concerns in letters to the companies, amplifying the frustration among some lawmakers in Congress over the continued availability of disposable e-cigarettes. They say the vivid colors and candy flavors only attract kids. The unchecked sales, they wrote, “pose a tremendous public health threat.”
“FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] and the industry must do more to address the youth vaping epidemic and remove unauthorized vaping products from their shelves immediately,” Senator Dick Durbin said.
The letters were addressed to retailers including 7-Eleven, Circle K, BP America, Pilot, Kwik Trip and others. The FDA had earlier issued warnings about sales of unauthorized brands like Elf Bar, E.B. Design and Funky Republic.
“Today, millions of children use unauthorized e-cigarettes, risking nicotine addiction, respiratory illness, exacerbation of depression and anxiety, and many other harms,” read the letter to Joseph DePinto, the chief executive of 7-Eleven.
The other senators who signed the letter were Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Sherrod Brown and Richard Blumenthal.
March 8, 2024
Menthol Ban Would Make Many Quit: Paper

Photo: Alicia
Banning the sale of menthol cigarettes would likely lead to a meaningful reduction in smoking rates, according to a new paper in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press.
Health advocates are concerned about menthol because the ingredient’s cooling effects mask the harshness of cigarettes, making it easier for young people to start smoking. Prior research has also found that menthol in cigarettes makes it easier for smokers to absorb nicotine, which results in greater dependence. According to critics, menthol smokers also find it harder to quit smoking compared to those who smoke nonmenthol cigarettes.
Prevalence rates of menthol cigarette use among cigarette smokers vary globally. Some 7.4 percent of smokers in Europe use menthol cigarettes. In the United States, however, some 43.4 percent of adult smokers used menthol cigarettes in 2020. Menthol cigarettes are disproportionately used by young people, racial/ethnic minorities and lower-income smokers. About 81 percent of non-Hispanic Black smokers in the U.S. use menthol cigarettes, as compared to 34 percent of White smokers. More than 170 U.S. cites and two states, several countries, including Canada, Ethiopia, and the European Union ban the sale of menthol cigarettes.
Researchers here measured the effects of these policies. The investigators conducted a systematic search of studies published in English up to November to discover how menthol bans change smoking behavior. The researchers involved in this study looked at 78 prior studies, mostly from Canada, the European Union and the United States.
The study finds that the effect of menthol cigarette bans are substantial. The results show that while 50 percent of menthol smokers switched to smoking non-menthol cigarettes, almost a quarter (24 percent) of menthol cigarette smokers quit smoking altogether after a menthol ban. Some 12 percent switched to other flavored tobacco products, and 24 percent continued smoking menthol cigarettes. The study also finds that national menthol bans appear more effective than local or state menthol bans, as quit rates were higher in places with country-wide bans.
“This review provides compelling evidence for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes,” said the paper’s lead author, Sarah Mills, in a statement. “In December 2023 the White House postponed banning menthol cigarettes. Our review of the evidence suggests this delay is causing harm to the health of the public, especially among Black communities. Contrary to industry claims, studies find no increase in the use of illicit products. A menthol cigarette ban would provide the greatest benefits to Black people who smoke. As a result of targeted marketing by the tobacco industry, today every 4 in 5 Black smokers use menthol cigarettes.”
February 23, 2024
Altria to Use Bluetooth to Prevent Youth Use

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Altria is finalizing submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Njoy products in blueberry and watermelon flavors, according to Billy Gifford, Altria CEO, reports BNN Bloomberg. The company is currently waiting for a decision from the FDA on a menthol version.
The fruit-flavored products would use Bluetooth technology to prevent underage use, though the company has not detailed how it will do so.
“We’ve demonstrated the age-gating restrictions are effective at preventing underage access in virtually all cases,” said Gifford at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference yesterday.
February 22, 2024
Califf Pushing U.S. Menthol Ban: Politico

Photo: FDA
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf has privately asked friends and public health experts to lobby the White House to ban menthol cigarettes, according to Politico. Califf reportedly fears that President Joe Biden might abandon the policy to avoid backlash from Black voters before the upcoming elections. The minority communities are core to Biden’s voter base.
“Fundamentally, these bold actions are about saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year,” Califf said in 2022, when the FDA first proposed the ban. “Prohibiting menthol in cigarettes would mean over 18.5 million menthol cigarette smokers ages 12 and older in the United States would have a better shot at quitting.”
In October 2023, the FDA finalized its menthol ban policy and submitted it for approval. However, the White House has not given it the go ahead due to pushback from a handful of influential Black industry allies who warn the ban would fuel an underground market, worsen over policing in minority communities and have a negative effect on Biden’s standing among Black voters.
Advocates of the ban fear that the delay means politics will override the urgency of the ban and that Biden will delay implementation until after the November presidential election.
“We’re now in a political season, and it’s only going to get tougher for them to do it,” said Yolonda Richardson, CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “All the delays are to the benefit of the tobacco industry. That’s just more time they have to keep them on the street, that much more time to addict kids.”
Recently, Califf has been raising the issue internally in addition to soliciting outside help. He has enlisted senior White House officials and Health and Human Services officials to help advocate for the ban. Califf has also personally pressed senior Biden aides on the decision.
“Everybody’s done what they could do,” said a senior administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. The White House declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing rules before they’re finalized.
“The FDA remains committed to issuing the tobacco product standards for menthol in cigarettes and characterizing flavors in cigars as exponentially as possible, said Michael Felberbaum, FDA spokesperson.
“In the last year of this administration, so many things happen with a lot of pressure to get things finished, and sometimes political pressure comes into play,” said Califf, who has also sought to restrict flavored cigars and wants to mandate lower nicotine levels in all cigarettes and other tobacco products. “A lot of considerations have to be navigated.”
The FDA had initially hoped to finalize the menthol ban before the end of 2023. Now, the FDA has set a new deadline of March for a final rule.
February 16, 2024
Vaping Altering Senses: Study

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Research from the University of Otago shows that a side effect of vaping may be a distaste for “sweet” smells, reports the Otago Daily Times.
The study had more than 200 participants who vaped regularly, occasionally or never. It aimed to assess potential impacts of vaping on taste and smell.
The results showed that nonvapers found “sweet” smells more pleasant than vapers, according to Jessica McCormack, researcher from the university’s Department of Food Science.
The distaste may be a result of vapers’ overexposure to sweet vape flavors, according to McCormack.
Study participants rated pleasantness and intensity of smell and taste samples and did a sensory detection test where they guessed between plain water and the taste or smell at a very low concentration.
Results showing a smell dysfunction and taste changes in vapers were consistent with studies looking at smokers, McCormack said.
“We still have more we need to know about what the mechanisms might be here—is it related to the use of flavors or nicotine or a combination?”
The study was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute for Health Innovation and published in the journal Appetite.
February 14, 2024
Rutgers to Study Menthol Ban Perception

Photo: By Benjamin Clapp
Rutgers University researchers have received more than $7 million to study disinformation and marketing around the proposed U.S. ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars with a particular focus on how the information affects Black and Hispanic smokers, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Kymberle Sterling, associate director for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies, will lead two studies funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
According to Sterling, it’s crucial to study how Black and Hispanic smokers, demographic groups that tend to smoke more menthol cigarettes than white individuals, perceive messaging from the tobacco industry around the menthol ban.
Those against the ban worry that it will increase policing of Black communities and businesses while supporters feel that the ban will save lives, especially in Black communities where menthol is prevalent.
“We know that police discrimination among African American communities is a problem,” Sterling said. “However, the tobacco industry is co-opting that and using that real social justice issue as a way to promote fear—and sell their product.”
Sterling’s team plans to use the funding to develop counter-messaging debunking false information and providing facts about menthol cigarettes. The study will look at the effectiveness of the public health campaign over five years. Researchers will also work with community members to educate individuals about the menthol and flavored cigar ban.
“What we would ideally like to do is develop a set of messages that our community partners can disseminate in their community. Once this grant is wrapped up, we don’t want the work to stop because the tobacco industry won’t stop,” Sterling said.
The study will also look at how the tobacco industry reacts once the ban is in place, such as new packaging.
“We’re looking at how young adults are exposed to this repackaging as well as what sort of sociopolitical rhetoric the industry will put out,” Sterling said.
February 13, 2024
Flavors Help Save Lives

Image: Fotofabrika
Today, the R Street Institute released a new report that explores how flavors are processed by the brain, especially as it pertains to tobacco and nicotine products. Using these findings, the author, Jeffrey Smith, resident senior fellow for integrated harm reduction policy at R Street, explains how flavor can influence behavior and why well-intentioned efforts to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products can have unintended consequences in the fight to reduce smoking rates in the United States.
This report comes at a crucial time as the debate over flavored tobacco and nicotine products continues at state, national, and international levels. Across the United States, policymakers are proposing or enacting flavor bans without fully appreciating the impact of their actions for adult smokers. And just this week, the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is hosting their 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10), where many expect the WHO to continue its crusade against flavored, reduced-risk nicotine products.

To reduce the nearly 500,000 smoking-related deaths that occur each year in the United States, the CTP must take a scientifically driven approach that recognizes the neurobiological rationale for allowing a wide variety of flavored, reduced-risk products to be available to adults—while minimizing youth access.
Jeffrey Smith, resident senior fellow for integrated harm reduction policy, R Street
Smoking rates have declined in recent years and, under the Trump administration, the age to purchase tobacco products was raised to 21. This has reduced youth use, and continued enforcement will help lower rates even more. However, millions of adults in the United States still smoke combustible cigarettes to the detriment of their health.
A number of tools exist to help these individuals quit smoking. Flavor, for example, has been shown to help move adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes to alternative, reduced-risk products. This makes sense on the surface; if it tastes good, then it’s more appealing. However, in R Street’s report, author Jeffrey Smith goes far deeper and explains the neurobiological connections between flavor and behavior. While adults may seek tobacco flavored products to initially switch, other flavors help them maintain abstinence from cigarettes. In the end, flavor will save more lives, according to Smith’s research.
“To reduce the nearly 500,000 smoking-related deaths that occur each year in the United States, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) must take a scientifically driven approach that recognizes the neurobiological rationale for allowing a wide variety of flavored, reduced-risk products to be available to adults—while minimizing youth access,” said Smith in a statement. “It is essential that the CTP approve non-tobacco-flavored, reduced-risk products.”
February 8, 2024