The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently considering whether to ban menthol cigarettes as it is now also being reported that menthol cigarettes make it more difficult for smokers to quit, especially blacks and Puerto Ricans.

The study found that smokers who used menthol cigarettes were less likely to quit than those who used non-menthol cigarettes. Overall, the use of menthol cigarettes was highest among females and young adults, aged 18 to 24. When examined by race/ethnicity, menthol cigarette use was much higher among blacks (71.8 percent) than among Hispanics (28.1 percent) or whites (21 percent).

Researchers stated:

“Because our evidence suggests that the presence of menthol may partially explain the observed differences in cessation outcomes, the recent calls to ban this flavoring would be prudent and evidence based.”

But there were wide variations among Hispanics: Puerto Rican origins (62 percent), Mexican origins (19.9 percent), and other Hispanic origins (26.5 percent), the investigators noted.

The US Food and Drug Administration first met on July 21 to discuss whether to restrict or ban the sale of menthol cigarettes, but no date for a final decision has been set.

The FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has been reviewing the health effects of menthol cigarettes and is due to submit its final report and recommendations to the agency any day. The FDA usually, but not always, goes along with its advisory panels who recommend to ban menthol. However, Lorillard, maker of Newports, and R.J. Reynolds, maker of Kools, filed a lawsuit Feb. 25, 2011 to block the committee’s recommendations. The suit alleges that the committee can’t provide fair advice because three members have conflicts of interest.

Drafts of a few chapters posted online recently provide a preview of the panel’s report:

“While there is insufficient evidence to conclude that menthol smokers are more likely to be diagnosed with tobacco-caused diseases than non-menthol smokers, the evidence is sufficient to conclude that it is biological(ly) plausible that menthol makes cigarette smoking more addictive.”

Newports are the lifeblood of Lorillard, the oldest U.S. tobacco company, which has framed the debate as a civil rights issue. One Lorillard ad, with a photo of an African-American woman, bears the headline “Freedom of Choice for Grown-ups” and states “informed grown-ups who decide to smoke should have the freedom to choose menthol cigarettes.”

Research has shown that flavored cigarettes attract young new smokers. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed by President Obama in June 2009, authorized the FDA to ban all cigarette flavors except minty menthol, whose brands represent more than a quarter of cigarettes sold in the USA.

In an open letter to Congress in 2008, seven former secretaries of Health and Human Services or Health, Education, and Welfare and a former surgeon general urged that the act ban menthol cigarettes as well:

“Banning flavored cigarettes, which mask the harshness of tobacco and something that can deter some first-time smokers, especially children is a positive move. Failing to ban menthol, the bill caves to the financial interests of tobacco companies and discriminates against African Americans.”

Written by Sy Kraft