March 31st, 2010

Reports Reuters:

U.S. advisers heard evidence on the effects of menthol cigarettes on Tuesday as they began a year-long review of the popular but controversial flavoring under the government’s new tobacco powers.

Health

Smoked by about 19 million Americans, minty menthol cigarettes are under attack from health advocates who say the taste can be more enticing and possibly addicting than regular cigarettes.

At the start of a two-day public meeting, a committee of outside experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration began hearing data on menthol’s impact on smokers’ use and health. The panel is due to issue a report by March 2011.

Menthols account for more than a quarter of cigarette sales and are a top choice among black smokers. A U.S. government survey showed 83 percent of adult black smokers chose menthol, compared with 23 percent of whites.

FDA scientists presented findings to the panel from data stretching back decades in some cases on the health effects, marketing and use of menthol cigarettes.

A key question for the panel is whether menthol lures children or others to pick up a smoking habit more than regular cigarettes. Anti-smoking activists say menthol’s mild anesthetic property masks the harshness of tobacco, making it easier to start smoking and harder to quit.

Dr. Joshua Rising, an FDA scientist, said research showed menthol was a more likely choice for younger people just starting to smoke compared with others who had been smoking for at least a year. But limited data “do not suggest that menthol cigarettes are associated with an earlier age of initiation,” he said.

The FDA could eventually ban or phase out menthol cigarettes, although some anti-smoking advocates and industry analysts are skeptical that will happen. Stronger warnings also are a possibility.

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