No action the Food and Drug Administration and the Obama administration could take would do more to save lives, reduce health-care costs and curb the tobacco industry’s exploitation of children and minority teens than to ban menthol flavoring in cigarettes. Consider these findings from a March report by an FDA panel: Eighty percent of adolescent African American smokers use menthol cigarettes. Most adolescent Hispanic American smokers use me ... Jump to full article >>

HARTFORD,Conn. — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal encouraged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect public health by removing menthol cigarettes from the marketplace. The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee found evidence that tobacco companies often include menthol flavors in their products both to entice certain demographics such as young children and teens to use tobacco, and to make it harder for them to quit. “ ... Jump to full article >>

A federal panel ruled on Friday that the removal of menthol cigarettes from sale would be beneficial to United States public health, but fell short of recommending such action. The chairman of the panel, Dr. Jonathan Samet, professor of medicine at the University of Southern California, said there was a scientific basic to support the proposition that menthol cigarettes were more deleterious than regular ones. The risk, the panel said, was not t ... Jump to full article >>

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged a ban on menthol cigarettes because they believe a ban would be beneficial to public health. With their enticing cool and minty flavor, menthol cigarettes have emerged as one of the most controversial products made by the tobacco industry. Kids are particularly drawn to them, with nearly 45% of smokers aged 12 to 17 using menthol cigarettes, according to a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and ... Jump to full article >>

Menthol cigarettes aren’t riskier than regular cigarettes and shouldn’t be regulated any differently, the tobacco industry argues in a report to the Food and Drug Administration. The industry is trying to defend the minty smokes, a key area for growth in a shrinking cigarette market, as the agency weighs whether to ban the flavoring. According to a draft executive summary, the tobacco industry said it believes there’s no scien ... Jump to full article >>

The use of menthol cigarettes is rising among adolescents and is “very high” among minority youth, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said in partial draft report released Monday. The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee could make a recommendation about whether menthol flavoring should be banned. The panel’s report is due next week. Menthol cigarettes account for about 30% of total cigarette sales in the ... Jump to full article >>

OTTAWA – Today Megan Leslie, New Democrat Critic for Health, announced the introduction of legislation, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (smokeless tobacco and little cigars). Leslie was joined at the launch of her bill by members of Flavour… GONE! a youth-driven advocacy group that was instrumental in the passage of bill C-32 that banned flavoured cigarillos and received royal assent in October 2009. “Bill C-32 was supposed to have banned ... Jump to full article >>

WASHINGTON Adding menthol to cigarettes may increase the likelihood of addiction and make it easier for young people to start smoking, according to preliminary findings of a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel considering whether to recommend a ban or otherwise restrict menthol cigarettes. The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee said the scientific evidence showed that “menthol has cooling and anesthetic effects that re ... Jump to full article >>

CLEARFIELD — Countering the tobacco industry’s efforts to market flavored tobacco and nicotine candy products is going to cost the Davis County Health Department thousands of dollars. However, the county is going to be getting a whole lot of funding help from the state. On Tuesday, the Davis County Commission approved a contract with the state health department to receive $10,000. The money will be used for the county health departme ... Jump to full article >>

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has urged Major League Baseball to ban smokeless tobacco use on the field, in the dugout and in the locker room. In a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and the MLB Players Association, Durbin and fellow Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey say “use of smokeless tobacco by baseball players undermines the positive image of the sport and sends a dangerous message to young fans.” Twenty-eight years ago MLB en ... Jump to full article >>