From: SMOKEFREE@compuserve.com
Date: Tue, 06/10/08
Below is an important news article and letter to Congress from last week.
Please urge your US Senators and US Representative to oppose the Philip
Morris backed FDA tobacco legislation (S 625 and HR 1108) unless/until it
is amended to protect public and consumer health instead of cigarettes.
For contact information, please go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ Bill
Godshall
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Opposition to Menthol Cigarettes Grows
By Stephanie Saul
New York Times
June 5, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05tobacco.html?_r=3&scp=2&sq=smo
king&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Seven former federal health secretaries joined on Wednesday to protest
menthols special treatment in a tobacco bill pending in Congress.
The seven, from Democratic and Republican administrations, faxed a letter
to members of the Senate and House of Representatives demanding that
menthol-flavored cigarettes be banned just like various other cigarette
flavorings the legislation would outlaw.
One of the former secretaries, Joseph A. Califano Jr., said the legislation
was "clearly putting black children in the back of the bus." He was
referring to menthol cigarettes as being the choice of three out of four
black smokers and being frequently preferred by young smokers.
An estimated 80 percent of African-American teenage smokers pick menthol
brands, the letter said.
The letter reflects a growing controversy over the bills current exemption
of menthol from a list of banned flavorings - an exemption some lawmakers
said was intended to garner support from Philip Morris. The maker of
Marlboro Menthol, the second-leading menthol brand after Lorillards
Newport, Philip Morris has endorsed the bill, although most other cigarette
companies oppose it.
The bill would for the first time give the Food and Drug Administration the
power to regulate tobacco. While several groups have said the bill does not
go far enough to regulate the tobacco industry and fails to promote safer
tobacco products, most major public health advocacy groups have endorsed
it.
Some antismoking advocates have said they see the menthol exemption as a
necessary compromise toward getting the legislation passed, and 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 they are proved to
be harmful.
As now written the legislation would ban cigarettes flavored with
strawberry, chocolate and a number of other fruit, candy and spice
flavorings. Those flavorings have occasionally been added to cigarettes in
what critics say are a lure to children. But the bill specifically protects
menthol from the ban, even though menthol is the most widely used
flavoring. Menthol brands account for 28 percent of the $70 billion
American cigarette market.
The bill has cleared key committees in both the Senate and the House but it
is not yet scheduled for floor votes.
Responding to the letter from the former secretaries, the bills House
sponsor, Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, said Wednesday that he
believes an outright ban on menthol is not the best way to address it.
"Im determined to see tobacco legislation pass Congress that protects all
our children," Mr. Waxman said. "Leading public health experts have told us
that giving F.D.A. the authority to ban menthol is the best way to balance
both public health considerations with the reality that many adults only
smoke menthol cigarettes. Ill continue our ongoing review to make sure we
are dealing with this issue in the most effective way possible."
Menthol is derived from mint and is also available synthetically. Smoking
menthol-flavored cigarettes gives the mouth a cool feeling, similar to
sucking on a peppermint, and can help mask the harsh taste of tobacco.
The bills treatment of menthol "caves to the financial interests of tobacco
companies and discriminates against African-Americans - the segment of our
population at greatest risk for the killing and crippling smoking-related
diseases," the letter from the former secretaries said. "It sends a message
that African American youngsters are valued less than white youngsters."
Mr. Califano said that even though the bill gives the F.D.A. the authority
to remove additives it would require a lengthy process that "could go on
and on and on, and youre talking about years before you get through the
administrative process and the courts."
Mr. Califano, who served as health secretary under President Jimmy Carter,
said the idea to send the letter began when Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, the
health secretary during the administration of President George H. W. Bush,
called him to complain about the bills treatment of menthol.
"We both got our blood boiling," Mr. Califano said in a telephone
interview. They also decided to contact other past health secretaries. Five
of them were reached and all agreed to sign onto the letter, according to
Mr. Califano, who now runs the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University.
They are Tommy G. Thompson, who was a health secretary under the current
President Bush; Donna E. Shalala, from the Clinton administration; Richard
S. Schweicker and Dr. Otis R. Bowen, from the Reagan administration; and F.
David Matthews from the Ford administration.
In a telephone interview, Dr. Sullivan, the president emeritus of Morehouse
School of Medicine in Atlanta, said, "My issue is that menthol should not
be added because its added as an inducement, an enabler, to induce young
people to smoke."
In 1990, Dr. Sullivan was instrumental in pressuring R. J. Reynolds not to
market its Uptown cigarette, a menthol brand intended to appeal to black
smokers.
In addition to the former secretaries, two other people signed the letter..
They were Dr. Julius B. Richmond, who served as surgeon general in the
Carter administration, and William S. Robinson, the executive director of
the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, a nonprofit
organization in Durham, N.C.
Mr. Robinsons organization said last week that it was withdrawing its
support from the bill because of the menthol exemption.
- - -
Text of Letter to Senators on Menthol Exemption for Cigarettes
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05TobaccoLetter.html?ref=busines
s
June 4, 2008
The Honorable ___________
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Senator __________:
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
(S 625 and H 1108) awaiting action by Congress has the potential to advance
tobacco control for all Americansbut only if a serious flaw that provides a
major win for tobacco companies and abandons African Americans is
corrected.
The bill bans the use of all artificial or natural flavors in
cigarettesexcept menthol. Since menthol is by far the most popular flavor
for cigarettes, thats a loophole big enough for a herd of wild animals to
romp through and trample the health of African Americans.
Nearly 75 percent of African American smokers use menthol cigarettes. A
recent survey found that among teen smokers, 81 percent of African
Americans smoke menthol cigarettes compared to only 32 percent of Whites
and 45 percent of Hispanics. We also know that 90 percent of adult smokers
are hooked as teens.
More than 47,000 blacks die each year from smoking-related diseases and
thousands more are crippled by smoking-related ailments. More black women
get lung cancer than breast cancer and black men are 50 percent more likely
to get lung cancer than white men.
Tobacco companies know that one of the most effective ways to boost sales
is to make cigarettes more palatable to first time smokers by disguising
the unpleasant taste of inhaled smoke and adding a fresh, minty flavor and
cooling effect. They also know that menthol flavoring may make it more
difficult for smokers to quit.
African Americans have long been targeted by marketing campaigns for
menthol cigarettes. In 1990, the launch of R.J. Reynolds menthol-flavored
Uptown cigarettes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was planned to coincide
with the celebration of Black History Month. One of us (Louis Sullivan),
then U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, denounced the target
marketing of this product. With strong opposition from the public health
profession and the African American community, R.J. Reynolds backed down
and withdrew Uptown cigarettes from the market.
But, like leopards in the jungle, cigarette companies never change their
spots. R.J. Reynolds is test marketing a new product called Camel Crush, a
"menthol-on-demand" cigarette where the smoker can bite down on the menthol
capsule in the filter to give them anywhere from a small burst to an
extreme rush of menthol flavor--the perfect mask for tobaccos harsh flavor.
Banning flavored cigarettes, which mask the harshness of tobacco--something
that can deter some first-time smokers, especially children--is a positive
move. But, by failing to ban menthol, the bill caves to the financial
interests of tobacco companies and discriminates against African Americans
- the segment of our population at greatest risk for the killing and
crippling smoking-related diseases. It sends a message that African
American youngsters are valued less than white youngsters.
To make the pending tobacco legislation truly effective, menthol cigarettes
should be treated the same as other flavored cigarettes. Menthol should be
banned so that it no longer serves as a product the tobacco companies can
use to lure African American children.
We do everything we can to protect our children in America, especially our
white children. Its time to do the same for all children.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Califano, Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
(1977-1979)
Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
(1989-1993)
Donna E. Shalala, Ph.D., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
(1993-2001)
Tommy G. Thompson, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2001-2005)
Otis R. Bowen, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services (1985-1989)
Richard S. Schweiker, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
(1981-1983)
David Matthews, Ph.D., U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
(1975-1977)
Julius B. Richmond, M.D., Surgeon General (1977-1981)
William S. Robinson, Executive Director, National African American Tobacco
Prevention Network
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