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For: Real America News Updated 28 Apr 2022, 04: 15 pm WBS
As part of a measure that could further reduce smoking rates in the United States, the Administration of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a proposal to ban all flavors of cigarettes in cigars.
The FDA will solicit public comment before finalizing the rule, a process that could take years. But advocates say it’s a step in the right direction, pointing to a research model that estimated that banning these flavors could lead to a decline in 15% in tobacco use for 2026.
FDA to lay out plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, saying its proposal would reduce disease and death by helping smokers quit and stopping younger people from starting. https://t.co/73WlbO6EFU
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 28, 2022
Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the US, menthol cigarettes account for more than a third of cigarette sales, with nearly 17,000,000 of users.
According to Dr. Andrea Villanti, an associate professor in the Department of Behavior, Society, and Health Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health, menthol added to cigarettes and cigars produces a refreshing when inhaling the smoke.
“Actually, it dampens any kind of respiratory response to the fact that smoke is irritating. So it makes the smoke go down easier,” she explained. “Especially for a young person or someone who hasn’t used the product before; helps people get started, makes it harder to quit,” he described.
Multiple countries and government agencies, including European Union, Canada , Brazil, Ethiopia, and Turkey, as well as some US states and municipalities, including Massachusetts and Washington, DC, already have menthol bans in place.
Canada, which banned menthol cigarettes in 2017, you are already seeing the effects. Research led by a team at the University of Toronto found high levels of cessation behavior in menthol smokers, with a 24 % of daily menthol smokers quitting smoking at year and one % at two years.
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