FDA commits to advancing ban on menthol in cigarettes, flavored cigars
The FDA announced it is working toward issuing product standards within the next year to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all flavors, including menthol.
This decision is based on clear science and evidence establishing the addictiveness and harm of these products, and builds on previous actions that banned other flavored cigarettes in 2009, according to the statement.
“Banning menthol — the last allowable flavor — in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the changes of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom are far more likely to use these tobacco products,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, said in the statement. “Together, these actions represent powerful, science-based approaches that will have an extraordinary public health impact. Armed with strong scientific evidence, and with full support from the Administration, we believe these actions will launch us on a trajectory toward ending tobacco-related disease and death in the U.S.”
The FDA said it is “taking urgent action to reduce tobacco addiction and curb deaths.”
There is strong evidence that a menthol ban will help people quit smoking, as menthol masks unpleasant flavors and harshness of tobacco products, according to the FDA. On study estimated that an additional 923,000 smokers would quit if menthol was banned in the U.S., including 230,000 Black smokers in the first 13 to 17 months after a ban goes into effect. Another study estimated that about 633,000 deaths could be prevented by a national menthol ban, including 237,000 Black deaths.
“For far too long, certain populations, including African Americans, have been targeted, and disproportionately impacted by tobacco use. Despite the tremendous progress we’ve made in getting people to stop smoking over the past 55 years, that progress hasn’t been experienced by everyone equally,” Mitch Zeller, JD, director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, said in the release. “These flavor standards would reduce cigarette and cigar initiation and use, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity by addressing a significant and disparate source of harm. Taken together, these policies will help save lives and improve the public health of our country as we confront the leading cause of preventable disease and death.”
The decision on menthol cigarettes is in response to a 2013 citizen petition filed by leading public health organizations urging the FDA to prohibit the use of menthol as a flavor in cigarettes.
If implemented, the FDA’s enforcement of a ban on menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars will address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers and not on individual consumer possession or use. The FDA also will work to make sure that any unlawful tobacco products do not make their way onto the market, according to the statement.
The FDA is working on these two issues and the next step is publication of proposed rules in the Federal Register allowing an opportunity for public comment, according to the statement.
In a statement released after the FDA announcement, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “Banning menthol in cigarettes and flavors in cigars will decrease the appeal of these tobacco products and strengthen health equity. Together, these actions represent powerful, science-based approaches that over time will help end the cycle of children becoming the next generation of smokers and eliminate long-perpetuated health disparities.”
Several medical associations released statements on the FDA’s decision.
In a statement from the American Thoracic Society, Michelle Eakin, PhD, ATS Tobacco Action Committee Chair, said: “When Congress first passed the Tobacco Control Act in 2009, it immediately banned flavored cigarettes from the US market, but exempted menthol cigarettes. It is very exciting to finally see these harmful products removed.”
“The science is clear: Menthol cigarettes have an adverse impact on public health and have no public health benefits as compared to non-menthol cigarettes. They increase the likelihood and degree of addiction among youth smokers, elevating the number of premature deaths from tobacco use. Their removal from the market would have enormous benefits for public health in this country,” American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said in a statement.
“... We are also very pleased that the FDA intends to remove flavored cigars from the market. Like menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars serve as a gateway to tobacco use. Cigars are the second-most used tobacco product among youth, and the majority of youth cigar smokers start with a flavored product. Flavored cigars also appeal both to adults who have never smoked and former smokers, and they encourage dual use of both cigars and cigarettes. Removing flavored cigars from the market would mark a major victory for public health.”