For the past year, the Federal Drug Administration has been contemplating the idea of banning menthol cigarettes in response to studies that have pointed to their detrimental effects in comparison to non-menthol cigarettes. This has sparked outrage from smokers, about one third of whom prefer the minty flavor of brands such as Newport and Camel Crush. But on Wednesday, an FDA review panel decided not to call for a ban but said taking menthols off the market would “benefit public health.”
The panel was right in their decision to shy away from a ban. According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, people who smoke menthols are just as likely to develop lung cancer as those who smoke regular cigarettes. Although menthols have unhealthy ingredients such as benzopyrenes, which can be found in coal tar, they aren’t very different from other brands.
Cigarettes all contain hundreds of additives and are essentially equally dangerous. If the FDA wants to ban one type of cigarette, they may as well ban all tobacco products.
Likewise, banning menthols gives the impression that certain cigarettes are healthier than others, which would entirely negate the FDA’s goal. If the FDA wants to concentrate on lessening the number of American smokers, other avenues should be utilized. There has always been a correlation between tobacco use and low socioeconomic status. For those who don’t have the money to buy Nicotine patches or products such as the “e-cigarette,” a cigarette look-alike that produces vapor, quitting is almost impossible. Enacting a ban is a much less sympathetic way of increasing good public health versus even a minimal subsidization of these tools.
Admittedly, it’s difficult to achieve a balance between improving public health and the value of individual responsibility. Now that cigarettes are ingrained in the economy and in personal lives, any attempt by the government to compromise “smokers’ rights” is met with veracity – as was the case during Prohibition. For better or worse, Americans are often capable of rejecting attempts to criminalize addictive substances. The FDA appears to acknowledge this truth and should heed their panel’s advice if for no reason other than their own inconsistency.
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