The US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) on April 28 issued a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars.
- The move is aimed at not just curbing smoking in the American population, but also “reducing tobacco-related health disparities”.
- These actions have the potential to significantly reduce disease and death from combusted tobacco product use, said FDA.
- Menthol cigarettes see a disproportionately high usage in the African American community than by White Americans.
- The New York Times quoted a US government survey as saying that nearly 85 per cent of African Americans smoke menthol cigarettes, as opposed to 29 per cent of White smokers.
- The FDA’s move, thus, has been welcomed by many as likely to help reduce the burden of tobacco-related ailments specifically in the Black population. However, it has also received backlash from other quarters for potentially pushing more Black smokers towards “criminalisation”.
About Menthol
- Menthol is a chemical naturally found in peppermint and other mint plants, but it can also be made in a lab.
- First added to tobacco in the 1920s and 1930s, menthol reduces the harshness of cigarette smoke and the irritation from nicotine.
- Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance nicotine’s addictive effects.
- When inhaled, menthol can reduce airway pain and irritation from cigarette smoke and suppress coughing, giving smokers the illusion of breathing more easily.
- Menthol also makes it more difficult for people to quit smoking, says USFDA.
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