In
a landmark move sure to further shake the industry, the Food and Drug
Administration plans to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes next week as a part
of its aggressive campaign against flavored e-cigarettes and a few tobaccos
products, agency officials said.
The proposal would need to undergo the F.D.A. regulatory maze, and it might be
several years before such a restriction took effect, especially if the main
tobacco companies contest the agency’s authority to try to so.
None
of the main tobacco companies would discuss the likelihood of barring menthol
cigarettes at this early stage.
But
such a move has been long-awaited by public health advocates, who are especially
concerned about the high percentage of African-Americans who become hooked into
menthol cigarettes.
Dr.
Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner, wouldn't comment publicly on the
proposal on Friday.
But
during a recent interview, he said the F.D.A. was revisiting the difficulty,
one that had been weighed in previous administrations.
“It
was an error for the agency to retreat on menthol,” he said earlier this fall.
Canada
has already imposed a ban on menthol cigarettes, and therefore the European
Union’s ban is about to travel into effect in 2020.
Earlier
this year, San Francisco passed a prohibition against the sales of menthol
cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes.
The
menthol proposal is simply one among several initiatives the F.D.A. plans to
announce sometime next week, including a ban on sales of most flavored
e-cigarettes, except menthol and mint, at retail stores and gas stations across
the country.
The
products, which include such flavors as chicken-and-waffles and mango, would be
mainly relegated to sales online, at sites where the agency hopes to impose
strict age verification to make sure that minors couldn't buy them.
As
e-cigarettes became a booming business and very popular among teenagers and
children, health officials, parents, et al. became alarmed at the soaring use
of nicotine-addicting products that were considered alternatives to traditional
smoking for adults.
The
F.D.A. began targeting the main manufacturers of e-cigarettes, focusing
especially on Juul Labs, the maker of a well-liked, flashy product that has
become nearly ubiquitous in schools and on the streets.
Just
each day after agency officials began issuing details of next week’s decision
to ban some sales, Juul Labs indicated on Friday that it had decided to tug several
of its wildly popular flavored e-cigarette pods off store shelves, consistent
with several people briefed by the corporate.
The
vaping giant will still sell its liquid nicotine pods in mint, menthol and
tobacco flavors in brick-and-mortar stores, but will restrict other flavors
that would be appealing to younger people to online sales.
Juul
Labs launched the device, which resembles a flash drive, in 2015, and now has
about 77 percent of the United States' e-cigarette market.
Last
month, a competitor, Altria, said it might discontinue most of its flavored
e-cigarettes and support federal legislation to boost the age of purchase to 21
for any
tobacco
and vaping products.
Senator
Chuck Schumer, Democrat of the latest York, had been an advocate of such
restrictions.
“While
more must be achieved to completely regulate e-cigs like actual cigarettes,
Juul’s effort may be a good step in snuffing out kid-friendly flavors that have
fueled the spiking drug addiction amongst America’s youth and may make a difference,” Mr. Schumer said in an email.
Lisa
David, president, and chief executive of Public Health Solutions, a replacement
York-based nonprofit group specializing in health issues for low-income and
immigrant families said she opposed keeping mint and menthol flavors easily
available in stores, especially given the gateway effect for children who start
vaping then move to traditional cigarettes.
“Menthol
makes it seem less harsh, and also makes the body absorb more nicotine,” she
said.
“That
means it’s easier to start out smoking and harder to quit.”
Ms.
David also wondered if Juul's restriction could be too late, due to the various
similar devices, called “Juul-alikes,” already on the market.
“Juul
clearly was a contributor to the really significant uptake of children using
e-cigarettes,” Ms. David said.
“At
now, there are a bunch of other versions of the ‘Juul-alikes.’
They
have similar shapes and flavors and are appealing to an equivalent audience.”
The
battle against menthol cigarettes has continued for many years.
According
to the N.A.A.C.P.’s Youth Against Menthol campaign, about 85 percent of
African-American smokers aged 12 and up smoke menthol cigarettes, compared with
29 percent of white smokers, which the organization calls results of decades of
culturally tailored tobacco company promotion.
The
most popular menthol brand within us is Newport, which is that the
second-largest- selling cigarette brand within the industry, consistent with
the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Imperial
Brands have two strong sellers, Kool and Salem. Altria’s best-selling cigarette,
Marlboro, is additionally available in menthol, as is R.J.R.’s Camel.
A spokesman for R. J. Reynolds declined to comment.
Altria
and Imperial Brands couldn't be immediately reached.
In
a joint statement on Friday, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Lung Association, and a number of other
public health groups said that action on menthol cigarettes was long overdue.
“There
is overwhelming scientific evidence that menthol cigarettes have had a profound
adverse effect on public health within us, leading to more death and disease,”
the organizations said.
Although
federal health officials released new reports in the week that indicated
traditional smoking had reached a record low since 1965, smoking-related deaths
still number about 480,000 within us per annum.
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