The US Food and Drug Administration has confirmed its next goal is to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The FDA has clear evidence of the addiction and harm these products cause, particularly to African Americans, the main target of advocacy for multinational tobacco companies.
The FDA Commissioner stated that “banning menthol in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save many lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. “
The American health organization believes that being able to implement these actions will significantly reduce smoking in the very young, increase the chances of quitting current smokers and ensure that health risks that affect low-income populations, Afro communities and LGBTQ exponents in particular are contained. . All users of flavored products.
The ban, currently under discussion, would only apply to manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers and not against individual possession and use. And this would be another blow to the industry after those who blocked other flavored cigarettes in 2009.
“It is a decision that will help reduce addiction and save lives,” said Karine jean-Pierre, the White House spokesperson who confirmed that if these rules are passed they will only affect commercial activity.
But why is the American Health Organization attacking these products in particular?
According to the FDA, menthol hides the unpleasant flavors and harshness of tobacco products, making them more palatable to cigarette newbies. Additionally, these menthol products can also be addictive making it harder to quit. Furthermore, the effects of nicotine often increase.
What is most striking is that the highest consumption of menthol cigarettes is among African American adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vast majority of young blacks between the ages of 12 and 17 who smoke, 7 out of 10, use menthol cigarettes.
The FDA announcement was welcomed by the NAACP which, through the mouth of its president Derrick Johnson, highlighted how “For many years, the data have confirmed that the tobacco industry has successfully and intentionally marketed mentholated cigarettes to African Americans and especially African American women. It is also known that menthol smokers have a harder time quitting smoking and that tobacco use is a major contributor to heart disease, cancer and stroke, the three leading causes of death among African Americans. This ban is long overdue to protect the health of African Americans and to reduce the deleterious impact of menthol smoking and tobacco use in general on the health of the United States. “
Altria, the tobacco giant parent company of Philip Morris USA, has instead argued that the ban will have no effect.
“We share the common goal of moving adult smokers away from cigarettes to potentially less harmful alternatives, but the ban doesn’t work,” Altria spokesman George Parman said, adding that “A far better approach is to support the creation of a market for cigarettes. FDA-cleared non-combustible alternatives that are attractive to adult smokers. “
The multinational also confirmed that it will look into the FDA announcement by engaging in the process with a focus on science and evidence.
Another important subject in favor of the decision was the American Medical Association who also said as an FDA discovery found that “if menthol cigarettes were taken off the market in 2010, by 2020, about 17,000 premature deaths could have been avoided and 2.3 million people would not have started smoking. “.
And finally also l’African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council he applauded the news, claiming that it represents “an important step towards Saving Black Lives; however it is not the end of this struggle, but only the next phase because we all know that this process of setting the rules will be very long and will collide with the tobacco industry. It will continue to do everything in its power to blast any attempt to remove deadly products from the market. ”The battle for health continues.