Ken Wassum, Associate Director, Clinical Development & Support

In a long awaited announcement on Friday, the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee gave a half-hearted condemnation of menthol in cigarettes in a new report, stating “menthol cigarettes have an adverse impact on the public health in the United States…..the availability of menthol cigarettes increases experimentation and regular smoking.”  However, despite the fact that this report is the culmination of a year spent reviewing medical literature, reports from the FDA, submissions from tobacco companies, and public comments, the panel went on to say that the issue needs further study. This is too bad, because the evidence surrounding menthol cigarettes is pretty clear.

• Menthol serves to cool the smoke and make it easier to inhale and inhale more deeply. Menthol opens bronchial passages, which is why you find menthol in cold medicines, like lozenges and rubs.

• Over 50% of middle school smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. Kids report that the menthol cigarettes taste “so minty,” that they are “so easy to inhale,” and “they aren’t harsh at all.” We know for a fact that kids who start smoking earlier in life have a harder time quitting later as adults.

• 83% of African American cigarette smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, while only 24% of non-Hispanic whites smoke menthol cigarettes. African American smokers are more likely to suffer from smoking related diseases than whites, despite the fact that they smoke fewer cigarettes per day. It is unclear what role menthol plays in the health disparity.

• Menthol smokers are much more likely to smoke within the first hour after waking than non-menthol smokers. How soon a person smokes after waking is the single strongest measure of high nicotine dependence and high nicotine dependence makes it harder to quit.

• Studies show that some populations who smoke menthol cigarettes, particularly African Americans, are less successful in quitting than those who smoke non-menthol brands.

• It is a little known fact that most cigarettes have some menthol in them. It is part of the many additives they put in cigarettes to make them more palatable.

The tobacco industry maintains that banning menthol cigarettes would yield no public health benefit and that it would fuel organized crime. (Thank God they stopped short of saying than banning menthol cigarettes would serve the interests of terrorists!) The tobacco industry has a long and successful history of confusing tobacco prevention efforts by buying scientists to produce reports that show what they want the studies to show, and by predicting dire results if tobacco control efforts are enforced. There is no doubt that the tobacco industry will unleash full counter attack if the FDA tries to ban menthol cigarettes.

It is unclear if the FDA has the will to push through a menthol ban. The GOP controlled House would likely not accept such a ban where a majority of Republicans voted against granting the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco in 2009. Furthermore, President Obama may be reluctant to take on another controversial issue with everything he has on his plate right now.

Meanwhile, anti-tobacco advocacy organizations such as the American Legacy Foundation are celebrating what they consider to be an historic step to save lives from tobacco use. Now it’s up to the FDA to follow through by taking prompt and decisive action.