FDA Poised by Ban Menthol and Cut Nicotine in Cigarettes by April 29

WASHINGTON - April 28, 2021 - PRLog -- The FDA is reportedly to announce that it will ban menthol in cigarettes on April 29th; a date set by a lawsuit brought by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and other organizations, and recently joined by the American Medical Association [AMA].

It also appears that the agency may finally move forward to restrict the amount of nicotine which can be contained in cigarettes to a level that cannot satisfy smokers with an established addiction, much less trigger addictions in new teen smokers.

Banzhaf has fought the use of menthol in cigarettes for dozens of years, and brought the law suit which first provided the basis for the FDA to declare nicotine to be an addictive as well as a deadly drug.

Finally banning menthol from cigarettes, because of its very strong appeal to African Americans, would save many thousands of lives; more each year than gun control and police reform efforts, says Banzhaf.

Menthol makes it easier for kids to start smoking because the cooling sensation in tobacco products masks the harshness of the smoke.

As Banzhaf, who has been called "The Man Behind the Ban on Cigarette Commercials, recently announced, a "lethal racist loophole," which kills more African Americans each year than all police shootings, is apparently about to be closed.

Some 85% of Black smokers, including many teens, smoke menthol brands.  Of the estimated 34.1 million current adult smokers (14%), more than half - nearly 20 million - smoke cigarettes flavored with menthol.

In 2009, the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act [FSPTCA] created what has been called the "menthol loophole" when it banned all other flavorings from cigarettes.

But the statute gave the FDA the power to add menthol to the flavoring ban, and an FDA Advisory Committee recommended just such a ban in 2011.

The FSPTCA thus included a lethal racist loophole just waiting to be closed by the FDA, charges Professor Banzhaf, who fought along with former-HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan against attempts to spare menthol cigarettes from the ban because they are overwhelmingly used by African Americans.

An estimated 80% of African-American teenage smokers choose menthol brands, notes Banzhaf, who argues that Black lives don't matter to the tobacco industry, except as a way to make money.

With all the emphasis and concern about black youngsters being killed by police, the FDA is ignoring and even exacerbating a much more serious problem in terms of lives lost, suggests Banzhaf.

A copy of the law suit may be found at: http://banzhaf.net/MentholLawSuit.pdf

http://banzhaf.net/ jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com @profbanzhaf