Black Chamber Of Commerce Opposes Menthol Cigarette Ban

Now that the Food and Drug Administration has authority over tobacco products, the agency is considering whether it should ban cigarettes containing menthol.

The agency's scientific advisory committee met late this week to take up the matter of whether tobacco companies use menthol as a way to keep smokers hooked. The committee has been directed to write a report on the subject and could recommend regulating, or even banning the substance.

Committee members said they will look at whether tobacco companies are using menthol to disguise the harshness of the smoke and make it harder for people to quit. But the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce sees the move as directed at African-Americans.

"It is no secret that menthol cigarettes provide a distinctive taste that is preferred by many African Americans," NBCC President Harry Alford said. "In making a recommendation, it is my fervent hope that the committee not make a decision based on mixed information, decades-old marketing information, inconclusive studies or preconceived notions."

Alford said it would be a "severe error" to completely ban a product under what he called "a paternalistic justification." In the absence of solid scientific evidence, he asks, why should the taste preference of African Americans be singled out for a ban?

The report is due in March and the committee's meetings this week concern what to include in the report. The tobacco industry said it has no evidence that putting menthol in cigarettes increases the likelihood that people will start smoking and find it harder to quit.

Previously, government regulators banned all other flavorings in cigarettes, except for menthol, on the grounds that it made it more likely children would start smoking.