We all know cigarettes aren’t good for you, yet, people continue to smoke. Because menthol cigarettes have a minty taste, health advocates say these cigarettes could possibly be more addicting than regular cigarettes. “A committee of outside experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration began hearing data on menthol’s impact on smokers’ use and health,” and is due to issue a report by March 2011, reports Lisa Richwine from Reuters.
One of the main focuses of the panel was whether menthol cigarettes lure children or others to pick up the 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,” reports Richwine. The FDA could possibly ban menthol cigarettes in the future, or put in place stronger warnings against the cigarettes.
In 2009, cigarette flavors such as chocolate, clove and fruit were banned; however, menthol was not. Menthol makes up about 27 percent of the cigarette market, and any “government action against menthol could be a blow to Lorillard, the nation’s third-largest cigarette company and maker of top-selling menthol brand Newport,” reports Richwine. Lorillard says there is no evidence that menthol cigarettes are more addictive than other cigarettes.
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