FDA Announces Actions Aimed at Saving Lives and Reducing Addiction Efforts to ban menthol cigarettes and ban flavored cigars will move us toward reduced addiction, increased quitting, and improved health equity
For Immediate Release:
April 29, 2021
Phoenix, Arizona. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced action today that moves the Nation toward a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars. The North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC) supports this action and offers its thanks to the FDA for taking this important step forward. We believe this action will decrease tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death, make it easier for tobacco users to quit, and address health disparities.
The proposed ban will save lives. Menthol cigarettes increase smoking initiation among youth, and one study found that menthol cigarettes were responsible for 10.1 million extra smokers and 378,000 premature deaths between 1980 to 20181.
Banning menthol in cigarettes will facilitate quitting among tobacco users. The FDA’s analysis found that menthol increases addiction among users. By eliminating menthol in cigarettes and cigars, the ban will make it easier for current users to quit tobacco. The quitline community stands ready to support current users in their efforts to quit.
The menthol ban will reduce health disparities, especially for Black Americans. Approximately 85 percent of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes and about 45,000 Black Americans die each year from smoking-related deaths. The elimination of menthol will reduce the tobacco industry’s ability to target Black communities and may make it easier for Black Americans to quit smoking.
NAQC encourages all tobacco users to make a quit attempt by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW to get free cessation medication and other help in quitting. Through this collective action, lives will be saved.
To read the FDA press release, please visit: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-commits-evidence-based-actions-aimed-saving-lives-and-preventing-future-generations-smokers
Contact:
Linda Bailey, JD, MHS
President and CEO, NAQC
lbailey@naquitline.org
1Le TT, Mendez DAn estimation of the harm of menthol cigarettes in the United States from 1980 to 2018Tobacco Control Published Online First: 25 February 2021. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056256 | 
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