FDA considers menthol cigarettes ban

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

VIEW GALLERY: How did these celebrities quit?

Menthol-flavoured cigarettes account for about 30 percent of total cigarette sales in the US and are favoured by adolescents and African-Americans.

According to Cancer Council Victoria, menthol cigarettes have been around since the 1930s, when they were promoted as useful for being able to continue smoking when one had a cough or cold. Until the current advertising ban, they were promoted strongly as "feminine" cigarettes.

In 2009 the FDA was given the authority to regulate tobacco products, which included banning all flavoured cigarettes, with the exception of menthol.

The law called for an FDA advisory panel to report on the public-health effects of menthol in cigarettes.

It's not known whether FDA will follow the TPSAC's recommendation, but FDA officials have said that if it did, it would take years to come into effect.

Your say: Should menthol be banned?

Related video

User reviews

A total ban on cigarettes will not happen anytime soon if ever and even if it does that has stopped people before, has it? Cigarettes are a huge contributer to the two biggest causes of death in this country, cardiovascular disease and cancer and medical care for these is a great financial burden which the government helps subsidise through medicare and PBS. Yes they have to tax cigarettes to discourage people from smoking and to pay for their healthcare.

I think most people are forgetting a very important point. Banning things like cigarettes does not work. Look at the so-called "war on drugs". Drugs are more prevalent than ever. Making them illegal doesn't stop their supply, purchase or consumption. Another example was the prohibition of alcohol. These products were constantly supplied and consumed. The same would be for cigarettes. Making these things illegal will not and does not work! I thought that was fairly obvious? All that ends up happening is the government spends millions (and in the case of drugs - billions) each year to enfore the law surrounding the ban of these products. A little bit of commonsense is needed here. Don't ban them, but offer the necessary help and assistance for those who want to quit.

i am a smoker, have given up several times easily, my choice to take it back up. Government only considers these recommendations as it panders to the 'do-gooders' whilst still keeping the revenue rolling in. Big brother is here. The anti-smoking lobby are very vocal, however, i don't here them vocalising any of the other 'anti-social' habits of the masses. Makes you wonder what they do at home. Freedom of choice is a right to all humanity who are YOU to stand there and preach about that choice. Glass houses and all that!

I have been a smoker for years and battling to give it up! I hate smoking noone likes it it is addictive just like heroin. The government should bann smoking altogether. This should not be allowed we are all smoking ourselves to death......Can someone please help us smokers get rid of this terrible addiction.........

i have just given the ciggies up after 7 years,i enjoyed smoking and could easily have one at the drop of a hat but what are talking about here is an individuals choice and slowly this is being taken away from you in all aspects of our lives, governments are now interfering with how people go about their lives by removing those choices,i dont think we can say they are big brother any more its more like big mother,im just waiting for my dummy to arrive in the post.

Its a known fact only stupid people smoke, the menthol or not debate is just as stupid, It doesnt make them smell any better when you have to walk through the stinkers outside shopping centres etc As for the government raking in the tax on cigarettes, they can only do this when you buy them. So stick it up the government and stop buying, or admit you are addicted and do something about it. Freedom of choice?, crap, I would like the freedom to not smell these stinkers..

I am a menthol smoker and have been for years. I enjoy my smoke more than I would the other types. It doesnt make me smoke more or less and when I am ill (cold etc) I dont smoke at all or very little. I dont see why menthol should be banned, if the Government were serious and not the hypocrites that they are, they would ban the sale of cigarettes all together. But because it rakes in high revenue for them and their coffers, they simply havent got the guts to do that. I will be very disappointed if they take my enjoyment away. Society is getting pretty bad when they have to resort to this. Why not take away gambling facilities, and alcohol, and knives and the list goes on and on and on................................................................................

Never understood why menthol cigarettes weren't banned when the flavoured cigarette ban came in, so all they are considering is rectifying a dumb mistake. Now why aren't they considering simply banning tobacco products full stop???

I see no reason why menthol is an accepted flavour whilst others are not. You have to be consistant. Psuedo-science won over common sense on the day that decision was made. And smoking revenue has never even come close to covering the cost of tobacco related illness...

please, you think the ciggarette companies are the ones making money? it is the government that rakes in all the cash cos its them that imposes the tax on the ciggs. why do you think no government has outright banned ciggs when theyre that bad for your health? cos they would lose millions in revenue.

Also in this section