Should Menthol Cigarettes Be Prohibited

Here’s a word of advice to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators deciding this week whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes smoking: Cool it. If the FDA sows this wind, I fear we will reap the whirlwind.

It was only last year that the agency prohibited the sale of all other flavored cigarettes, but would outlawing menthol be a good idea?

The FDA’s power to ban it goes back to the 2009 “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act” — the law giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco. That bill contained a provision barring all flavorings except menthol. Read More