Nothing Good Can Come From FDA ’s Proposed Ban of Menthol Cigarettes

Jeffrey A. SingerFood and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert M. Califfannounced today that the agency plans to seek a ban on menthol cigarettes and cigars.This ironically comes in the wake of recentresearch that shows menthol smokers have no greater difficulty giving up smoking than non ‐​menthol smokers. Even more ironic is the fact that FDA researchersreported in the journalNicotine and Tobacco Research:We found evidence of lower lung cancer mortality risk among menthol smokers compared with non ‐​menthol smokers among smokers at ages 50 and over in the U.S. populationAnd a prospective cohort study involving more than 85,000 participants in 12 southern states, reported in theJournal of the National Cancer Institutein 2011 concluded:The findings suggest that menthol cigarettes are no more, and perhaps less, harmful than nonmenthol cigarettes.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that60 percent of teen smokers choose non ‐​menthol cigarettes. And teen smoking in general has dropped to an all‐​time low of 1.5 percent of teens—only 1 in 250 teens are daily smokers. Teen smoking haspractically disappeared.A recentstudy by the Reason Foundation found states with the highest menthol consumption had the lowest youth smoking rates. Furthermore, menthol smokers tend to smokefewer cigarettes per day than non ‐​menthol smokers.Countries that have banned menthol cigarettes have generally found smokers have either switched to non ...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 28, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs