It's Time to End the Menthol Poisoning of Communities

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National Alliance for Hispanic Health

Dec 05, 2023, 08:00 ET

National Alliance for Hispanic Health Calls Upon White House to Finalize Without Further Delay Proposed Rules to Prohibit Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars

Menthol Changes Brain Structure and Increases Dependence on Tobacco

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "For decades, the tobacco industry has used menthol and flavored products to deliberately target and addict Hispanic and other targeted communities in a callous campaign to increase profit. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) can stop it now. Sitting at OMB are proposed rules from the FDA, that have been decades in the making, to ban menthol in cigarettes and flavors in cigars. A ban on menthol this month would save over 15,000 lives next year. Action can simply no longer be delayed," said Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the Nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group.

Dr. Delgado's statement came after delivering to the White House OMB a letter calling for completion of the White House's review of the Tobacco Product Standard for Menthol in Cigarettes and Characterizing Flavors in Cigars rules from the FDA. The Alliance pointed to National Survey on Drug Use and Health data showing 51% of Hispanic adult smokers use menthol cigarettes and National Youth Tobacco Survey data showing 84.1% of Hispanic middle and high school students who use tobacco products reported using flavored products. The Alliance letter to the White House OMB also cited brain mapping studies that showed adding menthol to tobacco products increases the number of nicotinic receptors in the brain making the brain more dependent on nicotine and creating addiction across age and population groups.

"Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The time to finally act on menthol and flavored cigars is now. The Alliance urges the White House to finalize its review of the FDA's proposed regulations and issue both in their current form without delay. Ongoing delays in enactment of these rules is literally a matter of life and death," concluded Dr. Delgado.

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance)
The Alliance is the nation's foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States with a mission to achieve the best health for all. For more information visit us at www.healthyamericas.org

SOURCE National Alliance for Hispanic Health