In England, The anaesthetic effects of menthol in cigarettes enable smokers to inhale cigarette smoke more deeply into the lungs, thereby increasing exposure to the harmful substances in tobacco smoke.
Paradoxically, the cool, numbing properties of menthol may contribute to the common, but inaccurate, perception of menthol cigarettes as less harmful than non-menthol cigarettes. This facilitates uptake of smoking and makes it harder to quit. In the United States, menthol smoking is highest amongst young people aged 12 to 17, who are more likely to continue smoking and experience greater nicotine dependence than young non-menthol smokers.
Despite a global decline in smoking, the number of young people smoking menthol cigarettes has not decreased. Tobacco companies target menthol cigarettes towards African American communities.
Higher rates of menthol smoking amongst young Black Americans may explain why they experience greater tobacco-related harm than their White counterparts, despite having lower overall smoking rates. Tobacco companies attempted to undermine the ban in Canada by heavily promoting menthol capsule cigarettes prior to the ban and thereafter by introducing packaging, filter tip colours, and text descriptors that conveyed menthol-like qualities.
This likely contributed to the increased market share for menthol and capsule cigarettes seen in the UK during this period. Philip Morris International PMI , one of the largest transnational tobacco companies , also set up a website informing smokers about the ban whilst directing them to alternative products, such as menthol-flavoured heated tobacco products. Determined not to lose any customers in response to the menthol ban, PMI, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International have all promoted heated tobacco and other products, for which menthol is still permitted.
But critics fear prohibition could give rise to clandestine sales, and more confrontations with law enforcement. The proposed ban would affect more than a third of US cigarette purchases. A final decision though will take months - and possibly years - to implement. The FDA's announcement on Thursday marked the agency's deadline to respond to a federal lawsuit from public health groups seeking the ban.
In its ruling, the federal body also announced it would seek to ban all flavoured cigars. It did not address menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes.
Banning menthol cigarettes does not require congressional approval, but it will not happen immediately and could take years. With its ruling, the FDA now enters a lengthy rule-making process that will include a public comment period.
Any final regulations will likely face a barrage of legal challenges from tobacco companies. Anti-smoking groups say a ban is long overdue, but the fight against flavoured tobacco products has moved in fits and starts.
When it gave the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products in , Congress banned all cigarette flavours except menthol. The agency presented a report in to show - for the first time - that menthol-flavoured cigarettes may pose significant public health risks, as they mask the harshness and throat irritation from nicotine.
It argued people may be more easily addicted to such cigarettes and find them harder to quit than non-flavoured ones. Neither the Obama nor the Trump administration took action on the product amid vocal opposition from the tobacco lobby.
This is not surprising, given that cigarette manufacturers have historically targeted African American communities with menthol marketing campaigns. The proposed ban on mentholated cigarettes will help to address a substantial driver of smoking among African Americans, while eliminating a design feature that misleads smokers about the health risks while making it harder for smokers to quit. In , Canada was one of the first countries in the world to introduce a national ban on menthol cigarettes, as well as most cigars and blunt wraps hollowed-out cigar wrappers that are often filled with marijuana.
It is very encouraging to see the U. FDA moving to act in accordance with the science and join the efforts of the global tobacco control community. The tobacco industry identified menthol cigarettes as a product that they would preferentially market to the African-American population.
But in fact, that is a result of racist marketing. These are lethal products. Cigarettes, menthols in particular, each year kill 45, Black people, a population that is already saddled with higher rates of heart disease, asthma, and other conditions that smoking can exacerbate.
Smoking also makes people more vulnerable to worse COVID outcomes, and, as we know, the pandemic has disproportionally harmed Black communities. Howard Koh Harvey V. On my very first day as U. That law allowed the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products for the first time ever.
So it was not only a stunning and historic day for public health, but an unforgettable one for me personally.
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