FDA to Release New Standards for 2025 Pulse

The agency has been taking urgent action to address tobacco addiction and prevent deaths from smoking. There is compelling evidence that a menthol ban will aid smoking cessation. Research has shown that menthol enhances the attractiveness of tobacco products and advances the transition to regular smoking, particularly among young adults. Menthol disguises the harshness and harsh taste of tobacco products, making them easier to initiate use. Menthol tobacco products can also be addictive, by intensifying the effects of nicotine and making it more difficult to quit. One study External Link Disclaimer indicates that the menthol cigarette ban in the United States will result in 923,000 more smokers quitting, including 230,000 African Americans, in this period of 13 to 17 months after the ban is implemented. A prior study External Link Disclaimer estimated that around 633,000 deaths would be prevented, including about 237,000 African American deaths prevented.

1- The Scope of the FDAs Ban

If enacted, the FDAs ban on menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars would apply only to manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers. FDA cannot and does not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or any tobacco products. The FDA will endeavor to prevent illegal tobacco products from entering the marketplace. So this is a strategic approach that leans towards the supply side of the tobacco industry. The FDA aims to address the clear role of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in the public health crisis by targeting those who manufacture and distribute these harmful products thereby eliminating a source of menthol and flavored cigarettes and cigars that is relevant in the market. There will be a significant reduction in the presence of these products in the marketplace. For example, if manufacturers are prohibited from producing menthol cigarettes, they won't be available virtually anywhere. This will, in turn, make it harder for consumers, particularly those hooked on the menthol flavor, to access them. The FDA plays a vital role in keeping illegal products out of the marketplace. As a gatekeeper, it helps to ensure that the market is not inundated with counterfeit or non - compliant tobacco products that would undermine the effectiveness of the ban.

2- Frontiers in Work: Regulations for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

The FDA also continues to focus on its regulation of Pulse and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). On October 30, the Center for Tobacco Products updated its ongoing premarket review for ENDS and other tobacco product applications and released warning letters to ENDS product manufacturers and retailers that sell products that are illegally on the market. The emergence of ENDS (e.g., Pulse) has posed a challenge to tobacco - related harm reduction. Particularly, these devices are marketed frequently as less harmful than traditional cigarettes so have grown especially popular with the youth. However, the long term effects of ENDS remains unknown. The FDAs premarket review activities are critical to ensuring that these products are safe and effective before they are offered to the public. FDA's warning letters to manufacturers of illegal ENDS products and retailers who sell these products sends a strong message that non - compliance will not be tolerated. This ensures the integrity of the regulatory mechanism and the protection of public health.

3- How Popular are Menthol Cigarettes in the US?

About 18-6 million current smokers in the United States smoke. But the prevalence of menthol cigarette smoking among smokers ranges widely: menthol cigarette use among all black smokers is nearly 85% but only 30% among white smokers. Additionally, between 2011 and 2018, menthol cigarette use substantially decreased among non - Hispanic white youth but did not significantly decline among the non - Hispanic black youth or the Hispanic youth. A high concern is the racial and ethnic disparity in menthol cigarette use, as the numbers are alarmingly disproportionate. One reason behind widespread menthol use among black smokers is aggressive marketing in years past by the tobacco industry that disproportionately targeted young blacks. In the 2011-2018 period, however, menthol cigarette use did not decline among non - Hispanic black or Hispanic youth [ 11 ], suggesting that different approaches to reduce menthol cigarette use in these communities may be required. Such campaigns would allow the retaliation to target a specific group of people and educate them about the dangers of smoking menthol cigarettes and quitting.

4- Regular Tobacco Product Standards for Flavors

4-1 Effect of the 2009 Ban on Flavored Cigarettes on Cigars

Flavored cigar use has risen sharply since cigarettes were legally banned from containing flavors other than menthol in 2009, raising concerns that flavored cigars remain widely available and may have undercut the public health goals of the flavored tobacco ban. The fact that more people are smoking flavored cigars is a troubling trend. The prohibition on flavored cigarettes was part of an effort to make tobacco products less appealing, particularly to young people. But with the growing prevalence of flavored cigar use, it seems the tobacco industry has found a loophole. Flavored cigars are now appealing to consumers who might have been turned off from smoking flavored cigarettes, even though cigars can be just as dangerous.

4-2 Mass - Produced Flavored Cigars: Characteristics and Popularity

Mass - produced flavored cigars and cigarillos are combustible tobacco products which can be very similar in appearance to cigarettes, present many of the same public health issues and are particularly popular amongst youth and other populations. Past 30 - day cigar smoking was more than twice as high among non - Hispanic black high school students compared to white cigar smokers per this Publication's previous reporting in 2020. These products are attractive and tasty, their flavors coating the acrid flavor of tobacco just as menthol does in cigarettes. A regime of poor high school non - Hispanic black students smoked most of the cigars, a sign that preventions need to target these populations. This might include tighter regulations on the advertising and selling of flavored cigars to keep them out of reach from youth.

4-3 Youth attracted to flavored cigars

Among 12- to 17-year-olds who use cigars, almost 74 percent reported smoking cigars because they enjoy the flavor. The report found that of youth who had ever tried cigars, 68% of cigar users and 56% of filtered cigar users had their first cigar a flavored product. In 2020, too, more children experimented with cigars than with daily smoking of cigarettes. Clearly, flavor is a large part of the appeal for youth with cigars. The foursome wrote that the tobacco industrys use of cigars with flavors is a macro tactic to ensnare new users and serve as a gateway for even younger users. The additional statistics that more youth experimented with cigars than smoked cigarettes on a daily basis in 2020 illustrates a trend of cigars becoming an increasingly popular option for youth. This is: Time to act now to protect the health of young people and keep them from a lifetime of tobacco addiction.

The agencys efforts to reduce tobacco addiction and combat deaths, such as the proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, are critical to improving population health. The multifaceted nature of tobacco use - including disparities between subpopulations in use patterns and rapid growth in emerging products such as ENDS (vape, hookahs) and flavored cigars - calls for a multifaceted, and well-coordinated effort. The tobacco control policies of the FDA and its ongoing role in regulating all tobacco products and considering the needs of the unique communities within our diverse population will be critical to achieving a tobacco - free society.

The article is an excellent overview of tobacco - related public health issues, but it may profit from a more thorough examination of the historical background of tobacco marketing to various ethnic groups. ) As I do, do you think that incorporating those historical details would actually help the broader message?

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