Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash
Last year the Food and Drug Administration proposed two actions, eliminate menthol in cigarettes and prohibit the use of any flavoring, including menthol, in cigars. The FDA moves slowly, but they do seem to be on track to enact these two proposals into regulations this spring (2022).
Menthol and other flavoring have been used to target specific groups and have certainly been the cause for millions of people developing addiction and dying from tobacco. Currently there are an estimated 18.6 million menthol cigarette smokers in the United States, and the large majority are African American. Menthol and other flavors in cigars facilitate the initiation of young people into smoking.
The FDA’s mission is to protect public health. Too many people have been lost because of flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes. The FDA is on track to establish the rules to ban flavor and menthol this spring. Let’s all hope that they follow through on their mission.
Michael V. Burke, Ed.D
Program Director and NDC Counselor/ CTTS
