American Legacy Foundation(R) Calls on Food and Drug Administration to Ban All Tobacco Product Flavorings - Including Menthol

Today the American Legacy Foundation(R) (Legacy) urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit menthol in cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products as one of its first priorities related to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the Act). Legacy highlighted menthol as a top priority, indicating that menthol products account for one-fifth of the U.S. cigarette market and highlighting that approximately 80 percent of African-American smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. Legacy's comments submitted to the FDA today as part of the agency's request for public input related to the Act on the topic of menthol states: The success of menthol cigarettes is hardly an accident. Literally many hundreds of tobacco industry documents conclusively establish that the tobacco industry has for decades systematically developed and marketed menthol products to attract and keep as long-term customers millions of "starter" and youth smokers; racial minorities and African-Americans in particular; and smokers seeking health reassurances. One study demonstrated a 17.5 percent increase in youth menthol cigarette use between 2000 - 2002. Despite a 22 percent decline in overall packs of cigarettes sold in the United States between 2000 and 2005, menthol sales remained stable. Full release.