AG calls for ban on menthol cigarettes

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes. In a letter dated January 22, Peterson and 22 other AGs said that, in the interest of public health, the ban should be implemented “urgently.”

Many people have the mistaken idea that menthol cigarettes are safer than non-menthol flavored brands, states the letter. That, and the fact that the menthol flavor masks the harshness of cigarette smoke, makes it more likely for adolescents to experiment and become addicted.

“Youth are a great concern” of Peterson’s, said Suzanne Gage, who serves as his director of communications. Peterson also serves on the governing board of Truth Initiative, a non-profit organization that works to reduce youth tobacco initiation and use.

The AG letter also states that menthol cigarettes disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, “in particular African-American smokers.”

The Tobacco Control Act passed by Congress in 2009 prohibited all flavors in cigarettes except menthol, but gave the FDA authority to ban menthol cigarettes. If they had done so, beginning in 2010, around 17,000 lives could have been saved, and 2.3 million people prevented from smoking by 2020, according to the attorney generals’ letter.