When the House of Representatives passed a pioneering bill last month to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, one of the most contentious issues it faced, whether as to prohibit the use of menthol flavoring in cigarettes.
House punted, his bill directed federal health authorities for rapid assessment of public health impact of menthol cigarettes. With millions of Americans currently smoking menthol cigarettes, the question must be answered quickly.
There is ample reason to suspect that menthol may be harmful to many smokers and disproportionately harmful to black Americans. Menthol cigarettes have been on the market aggressively to African-Americans and more than 70 percent of black smokers in this country prefer mint menthol brands, compared with 25 percent to 30 percent of white Americans.
Seven former federal secretaries of health and Afro-American anti-smoking advocates called for an outright ban. But the evidence is not yet conclusive.
Menthol was added to cigarettes for decades in order to enhance the attractiveness of smoking. It acts as a mild local anesthetic, and gives the sensation of coolness in the mouth, throat and lungs. Menthol may not be dangerous in its own right, but some scientists believe that it could further damage caused by other toxic components of tobacco smoke or may encourage smokers inhale more deeply, increasing their exposure to carcinogens.
The main task is the fact that menthol, by reducing the discomfort of smoking, apparently to make it easier for the tobacco industry to lure new smokers and keep chronic smokers to quit. The new document says scientists from Harvard, based on internal industry documents that tobacco companies have manipulated menthol only for this purpose.
Racial elements makes the problem particularly flammable. Some experts worry that menthol cigarettes may be one reason why blacks suffer from some tobacco-related diseases. Recent studies, however, found no significant difference in the risk of disease for smokers who use mentholated cigarettes and those who do not.
The bill, approved by the House ban tobacco companies use a variety of fruits and sweets taste in the apparent exempting menthol. With the release of a feature of the legislation on tobacco control in the past five years. Proponents of regulation of tobacco came to the conclusion that menthol so crucial to the industry, and prefers to so many smokers that proposing a ban could scuttle any chances for tobacco regulation.
The Senate should follow the House lead and give the FDA regulatory control over tobacco. Then F.D.A. should move as quickly as possible to determine the effects of menthol and what should be done to regulate or prohibit. Americans should know once and for all, regardless of whether menthol makes cigarettes even deadly.
