FDA to Consider Banning Menthol Cigarettes
You no longer know how to control your kid and stop him from smoking. How could you if there are some special cigars that taste good and that are the first cigars from a person’s life – the menthol cigars.
These cigars are the most controversial products that were taken out on the market by this industry. According to a survey on Drugs Use and Health, which was made in 2009, kids are the ones that are most attracted to smoking this type of cigars. They start in their early ages, such as 12 to 17 years old. Another conclusion that was drawn by this survey is that the vast majority of the black teenaged smokers and around 82 percent of the adult population choose to smoke menthol cigars.
This could be explained by the minty taste of cigars, which encourage people to start smoking and just then go on with normal cigars. But in beginning with menthol cigars
they will not feel the harsh taste of regular cigars. It is a proven fact that the younger you are and the newer smoker you are, you are more likely to smoke menthol than the older and the more experimented smoker you are.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has begun its meetings regarding the regulation of the usage of menthol in cigarettes, since last month. . The law that was signed under the President Obama rule, in 2009, when the Food and Drug Administration were given proper strength to restrict the marketing of tobacco products.
The newest law interdicts the cigarettes producers to use flavors such as candy, fruits, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa or strawberry nut as far as the menthol concerns they have not taken a final decision yet.
Despite of the fact that menthol was not yet banned from the usage in cigars, they could do this at all times. The menthol usage was the main factor that the FDA should have taken into consideration when beginning to ban anything.
In March, when the first round of meetings were held, they tried to find out from a specialist point of view, whether the menthol flavors from cigars, made people and especially young people get addicted to smoking and as well make them face with a harsh time in having to give them up. They as well have tried to find out whether these cigarettes are more harmful than the normal ones.
From the total cigarettes market, the menthol cigars account for almost 34 percent of it. The tobacco representatives are under no circumstance in agreement with the fact that menthol cigars are worse than the others and they advocate that they should under no circumstance, be banned.
As far as the smoking concern, there is no possibility to prove, that youngsters would choose not to smoke if there were no more menthol cigars. “Kids don’t smoke because there are menthol cigarettes. Kids smoke for a variety of reasons which are probably quite complex.” according to Bill True, senior vice president of research and development for Lorillard Tobacco Co., the makers of Newport’s. He admits the fact that indeed cigars have a bad effect on people, but this does not signify that this is about menthol cigars and that banning them is the solution.
Despite of the fact that nowadays, the FDA has more power over this industry they cannot act as banning the producing and the selling of the cigars nor can they ask the cigarettes companies, to reduce the level of nicotine to zero.
For the moment, al that they have taken into account to do is to require that each tobacco company put the contents and the process of manufacturing cigars, on the package so that everyone is well aware of what they expose themselves to.
Until March 2011 they have time to decide whether they should ban the production and the selling of any menthol cigars, according to the findings they will make that far.
