The FDA has assembled a panel to study mentholated cigarettes and advise on how the government should regulate them. The panel’s recommendations are expected by next March.
“The menthol issue is very complex, both economically and medically,” says ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross. “A few months ago, I thought it was a slam dunk that the FDA would ban it because of the members of the committee, but the more I’ve read on the issue, the more I believe that there’s no scientific evidence for banning menthol.”
ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan agrees: “While ACSH staffers were writing our paper on menthol, which has been submitted to the FDA for consideration, we were very surprised to learn most of the popular wisdom that menthol somehow increases the danger that smoking poses to public health or entices young people to begin smoking is basically unfounded.”