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Tag: menthol

  • Critics Slam ‘Misguided’ Menthol Ban

    Critics Slam ‘Misguided’ Menthol Ban

    Photo: Esser

    By Timothy S. Donahue

    The ban on menthol cigarettes is closer to becoming a reality. After years of discussion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has instituted a proposed rule to place a ban on menthol combustible cigarettes and flavored cigars. Whether the menthol ban will also cover next-generation tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, has not yet been clarified.

    “The authority to adopt tobacco product standards is one of the most powerful tools Congress gave the FDA and the actions we are proposing can help significantly reduce youth initiation and increase the chances that current smokers quit. It is clear that these efforts will help save lives,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “Through the rulemaking process, there’s an important opportunity for the public to make their voices heard and help shape the FDA’s ongoing efforts to improve public health.”

    When finalized, the FDA states that the proposed menthol product standard will:

    • reduce the appeal of cigarettes, particularly to youth and young adults, decreasing the likelihood that nonusers who would otherwise experiment with menthol cigarettes would progress to regular smoking; and
    • improve the health and reduce the mortality risk of current menthol cigarette smokers by decreasing cigarette consumption and increasing the likelihood of cessation. 

    According to the FDA, the proposed product standards are based on clear science and evidence establishing the addictiveness and harm of the products. Many organizations were quick to condemn the regulatory agency for proposing the rule that is opposed by all major law enforcement, civil rights and criminal justice reform organizations. Opponents of the menthol ban say that banning menthol products will do nothing to reduce combustible cigarette smoking rates but will lead to an increase in people purchasing products on the black market.

    “This misguided proposal will have disastrous impacts on public health and public safety. It will do nothing to reduce smoking rates and instead make the United States less safe.” said Tim Andrews, director of Consumer Issues for Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). “It is unfortunate that as violent crime rates rise across the country, the FDA chooses to divert valuable police resources to pursue an unnecessary ban on menthol products.”

    Andrews argues that a menthol ban exposes “vulnerable members of minority communities to conflict with law enforcement, and their purchases could also fund sophisticated international criminal syndicates.” According to the U.S. Department of State, illicit tobacco’s links to funding terrorist organizations already present a “serious threat” to national security. “This policy would worsen the problem while also depriving state governments of excise revenue, putting state government programs at risk,” says Andrews.

    Richard Marianos, a senior law enforcement consultant who has served more than 27 years at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and who is now a consultant and adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, says that in many  markets, such as Asia, companies are creating products to make mentholated cigarettes, because those types of products are not covered by the rule.

    “They flavor packets you just slide into a pack of cigarettes. You buy your cigarettes, you put that in there and by the time you get home, the whole pack is mentholated. They also have these– it’s like a little Tic Tac box with a round, small, little mint … but what it does is you put it into the filter, shake, crush and now it’s a menthol cigarette,” said Marianos. “Are we eventually going to be asking border protection to now start looking for minty flavor packets or Tic Tac boxes when they have to concentrate on biological and nuclear threats? When you overlook public safety surrounding this matter, you’re creating an unhealthy situation, not just for smokers, but anybody who’s out there.”

    Marianos says that a menthol ban will create a greater level of diversion and criminal activity with high-value targets overseas, it’ll bring more organized crime into the United States. It’ll also create a greater market for border countries to begin manufacturing menthol and bring it into the United States.

    “There was one investigation in particular, I remember, where the individual said on a wire that once they banned menthol cigarettes in the United States, you can pave the roads in gold because of the boost in sales of black market and DIY menthol cigarettes,” he said. “Prohibition doesn’t work. Your quality of police work goes down; they can’t concentrate on violent crime as much and it creates a greater wedge between themselves and the community.”

    Guy Bentley

    Guy Bentley, director of Consumer Freedom Research for the Reason Foundation, said that similar bans have had minimal effects on tobacco consumption in other countries such as Canada and the U.K., adding that a menthol ban is likely to lead to more policing in minority communities, more incarceration, boost black market sales and undermine criminal justice reforms in the U.S.

    Bentley explained that a recent study funded by the Norwegian Cancer Society in partnership with the Polish Health Ministry found that in Poland – the EU state with the largest pre-ban menthol share – found “mixed evidence” that the ban is working as intended.

    Bentley argues the FDA and Biden administration should apply a harm reduction model, educating the public about safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes and the latest smoking cessation options. Andrews concurs with Bentley, adding that the proposed rulemaking will inevitably lead to further growth of illicit markets, put members of minority communities in danger and divert law enforcement resources away from real crime.

    “It ignores best practice expert recommendations on how to reduce smoking rates through proven harm reduction technologies, is a disaster for public health, and will make all Americans less safe,” Andrews said. “If the Biden Administration truly cared about the American people, they would junk this anti-science and genuinely harmful proposal immediately.”

    Beginning May 4, 2022, the public can provide comments on these proposed rules, which the FDA will review as it considers future action. The agency also will convene public listening sessions on June 13 and June 15 to expand direct engagement with the public, including affected communities.

    The public will have the opportunity to submit either electronic or written comments directly to the dockets on the proposed rules through July 5, 2022. Once all the comments have been reviewed and considered, the FDA will decide whether to issue final product standards. 

    The FDA also states that it cannot and will not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars. If the proposed rules are finalized and implemented, FDA enforcement will only address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers who violate the rules.

  • FDA Announces Plan for Menthol Ban

    FDA Announces Plan for Menthol Ban

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a plan to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in the United States. Menthols account for about one-third of the U.S. cigarette market.

    The agency expects that taking menthol cigarettes off the market will reduce smoking levels and lower the number of young people taking up the habit.

    “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement.  “Additionally, the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities.”

    With the FDA plan, the U.S. is following in the footsteps of Canada and the European Union, which banned menthol cigarettes in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that wasn’t banned under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA authority over tobacco products.

    In 2019, there were more than 18.5 million current menthol cigarette smokers ages 12 and older in the U.S., with particularly high rates of use by youth, young adults and African American and other racial and ethnic groups, according to the FDA. The agency cited modeling studies suggesting that there would be a 15 percent reduction in smoking within 40 years if menthol cigarettes were no longer available in the U.S. These studies also estimate that 324,000 to 654,000 smoking attributable deaths overall (92,000 to 238,000 among African Americans) would be avoided over the course of 40 years.

    Health advocates oppose menthol because the ingredient’s “cooling” effect makes it easier to start smoking and harder to quit. The health consequences have disproportionally fallen on Black smokers, 85 percent of whom use menthols.

    Critics have cautioned that a menthol ban could have unintended consequences. For example, Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom at the Reason Foundation, warned of increased black market sales and more incarceration. The desired public health gains, he wrote, could also be achieved by applying the harm reduction model to tobacco policy.

    Along with its menthol ban, the FDA also announced product standards to prohibit all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars.

    “Characterizing flavors in cigars, such as strawberry, grape, cocoa and fruit punch, increase appeal and make cigars easier to use, particularly among youth and young adults,” the FDA wrote in its announcement. “More than a half million youth in the U.S. use flavored cigars, and in recent years, more young people tried a cigar every day than tried a cigarette.”

    Beginning May 4, the public can provide comments on these proposed rules. The FDA also will convene public listening sessions on June 13 and June 15.

  • U.S. Industry Braces for Menthol Announcement

    U.S. Industry Braces for Menthol Announcement

    Photo: kasetch

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could announce a detailed proposal for phasing out menthol cigarettes as early as this week.

    On April 21, the White House concluded its review of FDA proposal to ban menthol cigarettes after nearly 40 virtual meetings with outside groups.

    According to an Associated Press report, dozens of interest groups have met with White House staffers to try to persuade them to oppose the proposal.

    Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that wasn’t banned under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA authority over tobacco products. Menthol cigarettes account for more than one-third of the U.S. cigarette market.

    Health advocates oppose menthol because the ingredient’s “cooling” effect make it easier to start smoking and harder to quit. The health consequences have disproportionally fallen on black smokers, 85 percent of whom use menthols.

    In recent weeks, menthol ban opponents have stepped up their campaign against the proposed measure, meeting with lawmakers and publishing editorials. For example, earlier this month, Guy Bentley of the Reason Foundation warned that banned banning menthol cigarettes is a high-risk strategy.

    All major federal regulations—particularly those that could impact the economy—must be reviewed before publication by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Outside groups and individuals can request a meeting, offering a last chance to try and shape the final product.

    According to the Associated Press, more than half of the budget’s office on the menthol proposal were requested by group that traditionally oppose tobacco restrictions. Correspondence shows the groups raised concerns about unintended consequences of a ban, including increases in illegal market sales and increased policing of Black communities to contraband cigarettes.

    More than a quarter of meeting were reportedly requested by gas station owners, convenience stores and distributors. Members of the Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors, for example, said that some convenience stores could lose a third of their cigarette revenue, forcing them to close and create “food deserts”—geographical areas in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.

    Other groups, such as the Americans for Tax reform, which has received funding from Altria Group, warned of lost government revenue.

    Health advocates dismiss concerns about over-policing of Black communities and illicit sales. The proposed rules, they say, target distribution rather than possession, and most cigarette smuggling in the U.S. today is across state lines to take advantage of difference in tax rates. If menthol production stops, there will be little supply to smuggle, say health advocates. Canada banned menthol cigarettes in 2018.

  • Study: Menthol Ban Could Increase Lung Cancer Rates

    Study: Menthol Ban Could Increase Lung Cancer Rates

    Photo: New Africa

    Banning the sales of menthol cigarettes will likely have unintended consequences, according to a study by researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center published April 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to issue proposed rules this spring that would prohibit menthol cigarettes. The measure is intended in part to address a health disparity since a significantly larger percentage of African Americans than whites smoke menthol cigarettes and African American men have higher lung cancer incidence and death rates from the disease.

    According to the FDA, nearly 85 percent of all non-Hispanic Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to 30 percent of non-Hispanic white smokers. The agency also believes that menthol-flavored cigarettes can be more addictive than non-menthol cigarettes and harder to quit.

    However, the study by the Vanderbilt researchers revealed similar quit rates among menthol and non-menthol smokers overall and no statistically significant difference between white and African American participants.

    The researchers tracked 16,425 smokers who entered the study between 2002 and 2009 and completed a follow-up survey between 2008-2012, 2012-2015 and 2015-2017. The average annual quit rate from those surveys was 4.3 percent for menthol smokers and 4.5 percent for non-menthol smokers.

    Prior research by this Vanderbilt research group has shown that non-menthol smokers are at higher risk for lung cancer. They also cited research from Canada, where menthol-flavored cigarettes are banned, which revealed that most menthol smokers tend to switch to non-menthol brands rather than quit.

    “If the existing epidemiologic data showing lower risk of lung cancer among menthol than non-menthol smokers hold generally, then in the long-term if high percentages of menthol smokers switch to non-menthols, the ban could have the unintended consequence of a net increase rather than decrease in risk, at least for lung cancer,” the researchers noted in the study.

  • Bentley: Banning Menthol is a High-Risk Strategy

    Bentley: Banning Menthol is a High-Risk Strategy

    Guy Bentley

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s plan to ban menthol cigarettes may have unintended consequences, such as increased black market sales and more incarceration, while doing little to advance public health, according to Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom at the Reason Foundation.

    Writing on the organization’s website, Bentley says the desired public health gains could also be achieved by applying the harm reduction model to tobacco policy.

    In his article, Bentley examines the experiences of Canada, the European Union and Massachusetts, which have already banned menthol cigarettes, and finds the results to be underwhelming.

    “In the aggregate, the experience of menthol bans in the real world, as opposed to forecasts about them, is that the bans have minimal effects on tobacco consumption but do engender unintended consequences, even in markets where menthol is relatively unpopular,” he writes.

    According to Bentley, banning menthol cigarettes is a radical policy with significant implications for the criminal justice system and personal autonomy. “Rather than resorting to the failed policies of the past, the FDA and the Biden administration should apply the harm reduction model to tobacco policy,” he writes.

    “Educating the public and taking a harm reduction approach has been successful in the fields of sexual health and drug addiction, and it would be far more effective in reducing smoking than banning menthols.”

  • More Ads for Menthol E-Cigarettes

    More Ads for Menthol E-Cigarettes

    When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavored tobacco products, email and mailed advertisements for those products fell; however, ads for menthol-flavored products more than doubled, according to the Truth Initiative citing a Tobacco Control study.

    The study showed that partial flavor bans may not deter consumers, including youth, away from tobacco products. “Rather, manufacturers and consumers are adapting to new FDA regulations,” the study authors write. “The restriction of some flavored e-cigarette products has resulted in a shift of the sales and marketing of restricted flavored e-cigarette products toward other available flavored e-cigarette products.”

    “A more comprehensive approach that includes the consideration of disposables, refillable devices and other flavored e-cigarettes not covered by the current FDA guidance is needed to offer the most benefit for prevention efforts among youth and young adults,” the authors write.

    The FDA is expected to ban menthol-flavored products sometime this year.

  • FDA Submits Menthol Ban for Review

    FDA Submits Menthol Ban for Review

    Photo: chocolatefather

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a step closer to a complete ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes and cigars.

    The ban is not expected to impact vaping products, although many experts predict a menthol combustible ban could possibly transition some menthol smokers to e-cigarettes. It is predicted to be similar to what happened in the U.K. when it banned menthol cigarettes in 2020.

    Thursday, the agency submitted its proposal to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), according to news reports.

    In 2020, the regulatory agency enacted a “flavor ban” on e-cigarettes because they targeted middle and high school students. Now, public health officials argue banning menthol, the last allowable nontobacco flavor in cigarettes, will save lives.

    In its proposal, the FDA provides evidence that menthol tobacco products are heavily marketed to racial minorities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 85 percent of menthol smokers are Black, taking a disproportionate toll on their health.

  • FDA Menthol Cigs and Flavored Cigars Plans on Track

    FDA Menthol Cigs and Flavored Cigars Plans on Track

    Photo: Yulia Usikava

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is on track to propose rules prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and prohibiting all characterizing flavors (including menthol) in cigars by spring.

    The FDA’s actions “are an important opportunity to achieve significant, meaningful public health gains and advance health equity,” said FDA Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller in a statement. “For far too long, specific populations have been targeted and disproportionately impacted by tobacco use, especially when it comes to characterizing flavors that entice them to start and keep smoking.”

    In April 2021, the FDA announced its commitment to advancing these two tobacco product standards. Then in November, attorneys for the FDA appeared in court as anti-tobacco groups accused the agency of failing to implement a ban on menthol cigarettes.

    The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) cautioned that banning menthol in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars would boost black market sales.

    “Menthol makes up more than 37 percent of the tobacco market,” Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations, said in an article published on the association’s website. “That demand will not go away due to a ban. NACS is on record opposing menthol bans as we believe illicit vendors will quickly source and begin selling foreign and counterfeit menthol cigarettes. Illicit vendors do not verify age, do not collect and remit taxes, and they sell other illegal products beyond just menthol cigarettes.”

    In the convenience retailing channel, cigarettes contributed 27.79 percent of in-store sales in 2020, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data. Other tobacco products, a category which includes cigars, accounted for 6.9 percent of in-store sales in 2020.

    After reviewing and considering comments to its proposed rules, the FDA could then proceed to issue final product standards, which would become enforceable once in effect.