WASHINGTON: March 30, 2010 -- The FDA's new tobacco advisory panel took up the racially-charged issue of menthol in cigarettes during the first day of its two-day inaugural meeting Tuesday.
The question: whether adding menthol to cigarettes makes it easier to start smoking and harder to quit, and whether the additive and its marketing target African Americans and young people in general.
The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, authorized by last year's legislation giving the FDA regulatory control over tobacco, is also hearing data on any connections the additive might have to the development of cancer and cardiovascular problems.
The panel -- comprising doctors, government officials, a private citizen, and three nonvoting tobacco industry reps -- will issue a report on menthol in cigarettes by March 2011.
The Family Smoking and Prevention Tobacco Control Act barred tobacco manufacturers from adding candy-like flavors to their products -- such as cloves and vanilla -- but the law left a determination on menthol to the FDA.
Menthol is an alcohol that stimulates cold receptors. Found naturally in peppermint and corn oil, it can mask the taste of the cigarettes and provide the smoker with a cool and minty flavor.
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