US health organizations have said menthol cigarettes are more harmful than normal cigarettes, but stopped short of limiting their sale. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would seek possible restrictions for the products.
The agency said that while mint-flavored cigarettes may be just as toxic as others, it was easier to start smoking them and harder to quit.
Menthol cigarettes are one of the growing areas of the tobacco industry. The FDA has commissioned further research into the subject. Menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk than non-menthol cigarettes,” said the preliminary results of the FDA’s study.
It also found the cooling and anesthetic qualities of the menthol made them less harsh – and more appealing to smokers. The report concluded some of the findings from 2011, which suggested that a ban on menthol cigarettes would benefit public health.
But the tobacco industry has said that menthol cigarettes do not need to be subject to different regulations from normal cigarettes.
A group of former health officials, including two cabinet secretaries from the Carter and Bush Senior administrations, denounced the FDA’s inaction.
“The failure of this administration to act undermines the public health and is particularly harmful to vulnerable young Americans and African-Americans,” they said in a joint statement.
According to an earlier study from the US Department of Health only about 25% of white smokers choose menthol cigarettes, while more than 70% of African-American smokers use them.