Dozens of health organizations pledge 'full support' for federal ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Health

Published 8:03 AM EST, Sun November 5, 2023


CNN — Eighty national public health groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Preventative Medicine, placed a full-page ad in Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post in support of a federal ban on menthol in cigarettes and all flavored cigars.

“The answer is clear,” the full-page ad says. “Saving lives starts by ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars. “Smoking kills nearly half a million people in the United States each year, and these addictive, deadly products are a big part of the problem. The FDA and White House have our full support to release lifesaving rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.”

After years of consideration, the US Food and Drug Administration announced In April 2022 a proposed product standard because it had “the potential to significantly reduce disease and death” and reduce “youth experimentation and addiction” as well as increase the number of smokers who quit. In October, the FDA took a key step toward banning flavored cigars and menthol in cigarettes, sending final rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

“Finalizing these two product standards remains a top priority for the FDA. The posting of both rules on the OMB website means they have reached the final step of review for regulatory documents,” Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in an email to CNN in October. Public health groups are urging the Office of Management and Budget to act quickly and expedite the review so the final regulations could be issued by the end of the year.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/health/menthol-flavored-cigar-ban-health-groups-ad/index.html

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The ad as it appears in the print edition today -

[Chainfire]

1. Yeabut! Methol is what allows smokers with damaged throats to continue to smoke.

Menthol also makes it easier for new smokers to take up the habit. To ban menthol in smokes is unfair to the tobacco companies who have done so much for the nation.

[Oopsie Daisy]

4. Yes. I started smoking menthol cigarettes... very smooth and pleasant (I thought.)

And even when I was out of smokes and craving a cigarette, it was damn near impossible for me to tolerate an ordinary cigarette offered to me by one of my smoking co-workers.

I "needed" the menthol flavoring to make it tolerable.

What a waste of money over the years! So glad to be smoke free for 10+ years.

For a very long time, I was one of the fatalist smokers who believed "the damage has been done, why quit now?" But I can assure you that my life and health and stamina (and bank account) are all so much better without that evil controlling me.

Now, the smell of cigarettes nauseates me. I can smell it on others at 20 paces. Did I smell that bad? "Surely not," I tell myself... but I know I did.

Honestly, I think cigarettes should be outlawed too. Or, raise the tax to $20 a pack. One dollar for each cigarette!

[MistakenLamb]

7. I was a menthol smoker too and quit 13 years ago can't stand cigarette smoke now

[Shermann]

2. Menthol in cigarettes is a bikeshed issue

Why not focus on "pharmacies" that sell cigarettes? CVS stopped selling cigarettes in 2014, but Walgreens continues to do so.

That battle would involve real political risk but make a real difference.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Walgreens is already closing stores everywhere. They probably wouldn't make that call.

Though, they should. It could be a death knell for them.

[Shermann]

10. That appears to be an industry-wide trend

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/16/business/drug-stores-closing-rite-aid-cvs-walgreens/index.html

[Hekate]

3. This is a good step. Now about candy-flavored vapes. Nicotine-dose-delivery systems ...

…shouldn’t be “cute.”

[Mosby]

5. Little bit of info about the backstory of menthols.

How the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans with menthol smokes

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095291808/tobacco-industry-targeted-black-americans-with-menthols

[mahina]

8. Timing is everything.

Not now.

[LittleGirl]

9. Really? Menthol?

WTF don’t they ban nicotine? That’s the part I’m addicted to! I quit years ago but sometimes stress relief is needed so I buy a pack of menthols. It’s the damn nicotine that gets me! Every time. The withdrawals are horrible and unnecessary. Ban the freaking nicotine!

[Elessar Zappa]

11. Why should they ban nicotine?

Grown adults should be able to choose to smoke or otherwise take nicotine as long as they’re not interfering with other people i.e smoking in public places. That’s also my position on other drugs.