[Ip-health] Black Lawmakers Seek Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes

[Joana Ramos]

Note also the account of the propaganda campaign spearheaded by
Lorrilard, maker of Newport cigarettes.

<snip>
>
> The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that
> would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that
> specifically exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become
> the focus of controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by
> black smokers, who develop a large share of smoking-related cancers
> and other health risks....
<snip>
> Some lawmakers have said the decision to exempt menthol from the
> bill=92s flavorings ban was intended to win support for the legislation
> from Philip Morris, the country=92s dominant tobacco company, whose
> Marlboro Menthol is the second-leading menthol brand....
Joana
-----------------
http://tiny.cc/FEhhW

Black Lawmakers Seek Restrictions on Menthol Cigarettes

New York Times
By STEPHANIE SAUL
Published: July 1, 2008

The Congressional Black Caucus is calling for changes to a House
tobacco-regulation bill, demanding that the legislation place
restrictions on menthol cigarettes, the type heavily favored by
African-American smokers.

Representative Donna M. Christensen, head of the black caucus=92s health
task force, is helping to lead a challenge to a House bill that fails to
address the marketing of menthol cigarettes.

Louis W. Sullivan, above, secretary of health under President George H.
W. Bush, and others are asking the sponsor, Representative Henry A.
Waxman, to change the legislation.

The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that would
ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that specifically
exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become the focus of
controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by black smokers,
who develop a large share of smoking-related cancers and other health risks=
.

Donna M. Christensen, the Congressional delegate from the United States
Virgin Islands who heads the black caucus=92s health task force, said the
caucus was working with Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California
Democrat who is House bill=92s sponsor, to address concerns about menthol.

=93We are very aware and gravely concerned about the disproportionate
incidence of lung cancer in the African-American community and, along
with so many minority health experts, have long been concerned about the
role menthol may play,=94 Ms. Christensen said in an e-mail response to a
reporter=92s query.

Ms. Christensen did not disclose the exact wording of any proposed
changes to the legislation. But she said the group was working to
strengthen the bill=92s language on research and reporting about menthol
and to give the Food and Drug Administration explicit authority to ban
menthol.

On the other side of the debate, Lorillard, the cigarette company that
would stand to lose the most from a ban on menthol, is mounting a
counteroffensive. In e-mail messages sent on June 22 to smokers of its
leading menthol brand, Newport, the company urged them to call their
Congressional representatives.

=93Urgent! Urgent!,=94 the message said. =93Congress wants to make it illeg=
al
to smoke Newports and other menthol cigarettes. Call your member of
Congress now and tell them to oppose any amendment to ban menthol
cigarettes.=94

A spokesman for Lorillard, Michael W. Robinson, said, =93We think it=92s
important that consumers know what=92s going in Washington and have an
opportunity to make their voices heard.=94

The legislation has passed crucial committees in both the House and the
Senate, and supporters are hoping for floor votes this year. Mr. Waxman
has predicted a House vote after members return from the July 4 recess.

With or without a menthol exemption, enactment of the bill is not a
certainty.

Opponents of the proposal are hoping that opposition from the White
House, as well as tobacco state senators, along with a series of delays
in moving the bill to the House and Senate floors and an abbreviated
election-year schedule, might mean the bill would not be adopted this year.

Menthol is a racially charged additive, in part because of the tobacco
industry=92s heavy marketing of mentholated cigarettes to
African-Americans since the 1950s. The flavor helps to mask the harsh
taste of cigarettes and may make it easier to start smoking,

Menthol brands account for 28 percent of the $70 billion American
cigarette market. While only 25 percent of white smokers choose menthol
cigarettes, an estimated 75 percent of African-American smokers do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health
officials have raised concerns about the possibility that menthol
cigarettes might increase tobacco addiction and possibly cancer rates
among black smokers.

There is also evidence that some menthol brands, including Newport,
contain among the highest level of nicotine of leading cigarettes. Some
experts believe that higher nicotine levels increase the addictiveness
of cigarettes.

Some lawmakers have said the decision to exempt menthol from the bill=92s
flavorings ban was intended to win support for the legislation from
Philip Morris, the country=92s dominant tobacco company, whose Marlboro
Menthol is the second-leading menthol brand.

Some smoking opponents have said they consider the menthol exemption as
a necessary compromise to get the legislation passed. They have said
that the bill as currently drafted would give the F.D.A. the authority
to limit or eliminate additives, including menthol, if proved to be harmful=
.

The American Medical Association, in its meeting in Chicago in June,
voted to ask its board to consider the question of whether menthol
should be banned. The decision effectively rebuffed members who had
wanted the group to speak out this year against the bill=92s menthol
exemption. Leaders of the organization cited the possibility that
removing the menthol exemption might disrupt the compromise that has
engendered broad support for the bill on Capitol Hill.

Some supporters of the bill=92s current language on menthol have argued
that, because menthol is widely used by many smokers, the effects of
banning it outright are hard to predict. Among possibilities they have
suggested is that menthol smokers would turn to an illicit cigarette
market to obtain menthol cigarettes.

In a letter to several lawmakers on June 11, a coalition of health
groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart
Association and the American Lung Association, reiterated their support
for the bill without changes to the menthol provisions.

=93The impact of modifying or prohibiting such a large portion of the
current cigarette market is unclear,=94 said the letter, sent to Mr.
Waxman as well as John D. Dingell of Michigan and Frank Pallone Jr. of
New Jersey, House Democrats who head the Committee on Energy and
Commerce and its health subcommittee.

The Congressional Black Caucus took up the menthol issue in June after
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, an African-American who was the secretary of
health under President George H. W. Bush, met with members of Congress
and their staffs to voice concerns about the bill=92s treatment of menthol.

Dr. Sullivan, president emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine in
Atlanta, was one of nearly a dozen former federal health officials who
had signed a letter expressing concern about the bill=92s treatment of
menthol.

A black antismoking organization, the National African American Tobacco
Prevention Network, withdrew its support for the bill in late May,
citing the menthol exemption.

Past Coverage

* Opposition to Menthol Cigarettes Grows (June 5, 2008)
* Black Group Turns Away From Bill On Smoking (May 30, 2008)
* Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency (May 13, 2008)
* Bill Would Make Casinos Smoke-Free (April 13, 2008)

-------------
Joana Ramos, MSW
Cancer Resources & Advocacy
Seattle WA USA
+1-206-229-2420
http://ramoslink.info/
www.bmtbasics.org