Finding that the availability of menthol cigarettes increases the number of children and African Americans who smoke, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee on March 18 concluded that "removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States."
The committee based its recommendation on findings that menthol cigarettes increase the number of children who experiment with cigarettes and the number of children who become regular smokers, increasing overall youth smoking.
It also concluded that the availability of menthol cigarettes reduces smoking cessation, especially among African Americans, and increases the overall prevalence of smoking among African Americans. It found that "menthol cigarettes are marketed disproportionately to younger smokers" and "disproportionately marketed per capita to African Americans," according to a statement by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
"The committee's conclusions leave no doubt that menthol cigarettes have had a profound adverse impact on public health in the United States, resulting in more smoking and more death and disease from tobacco use," the organizations stated. "It also leaves no doubt that the tobacco industry is directly responsible for the harm caused by menthol cigarettes because of its targeted marketing of children and African-American and other communities, and its manipulation of menthol cigarettes to appeal to specific target markets."
However, the panel stopped short of recommending a ban on menthol cigarettes. The FDA is expected to issue its report in coming weeks, according to news reports.
