• As FDA mulls menthol cigarette ban, NC tobacco industry workers protest in Raleigh
    34 replies, posted
[url]http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2013640070_cigs13.html[/url] [release] That cool, throat-numbing sensation some smokers find in their cigarettes could go the way of other products the federal government has deemed dangerous. Menthol, a natural compound found in the mint plant, soothes throats and helps tame an achy tummy. But in cigarettes, some health experts argue, it makes the poison that is tobacco go down more smoothly, tricking the youngest and most foolhardy smokers. Last year, Congress passed far-reaching tobacco regulations that, among other things, banned chocolate- or strawberry-flavored cigarettes, saying they lured kids to smoke by dressing up cigarettes as candy. But Congress passed on regulating menthol cigarettes, which account for one-third of cigarettes sold in the United States. Instead, it called for a study and more discussion by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA brought the debate to Raleigh on Wednesday, when big tobacco executives and public health officials met at a downtown hotel to discuss the new law on cigarettes and how the FDA would enforce it. Outside, dozens of workers from Lorillard Tobacco in Greensboro, N.C., paced in the bitter cold. They produce Newports, menthol cigarettes that have been their ticket to a middle-class life. "This is about my livelihood.," said Darsey Campbell, who has cleaned and serviced Lorillard equipment for 40 years. " ... We have to worry when the government starts messing with one more thing. Don't they have enough to do?" The conundrum for federal officials is clear: Cigarettes are bad; jobs are good. Can there be a winner? "Undeniably, this is a very controversial issue with a lot of moving parts," said Jeff Ventura, an FDA spokesman. With cigarettes, the federal government is engaged in an awkward dance. On one hand, America needs jobs more than ever, and government officials want to avoid jeopardizing a major U.S. manufacturer's product and market share. Cigarette makers insist that banning menthol will simply push production overseas or into an unregulated black market. But the government also doesn't want people to smoke. It is the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the U.S. Smoking attacks the lungs, making smokers prone to chronic sickness. The FDA doesn't want kids to pick up a cigarette habit. Public health officials want cigarettes to taste as bad as they are for a smoker's health, and menthol undermines that. The product, which can be made synthetically, tempers the burn cigarettes bring to the throat. If kids feel that burn, they may never pick up another cigarette, some health officials argue. The biggest consumers of menthol cigarettes are young people and minorities, studies show. Campbell, the Lorillard worker, smokes Newports flavored with menthol. She wants government to stay out of her business. "I'm grown. It's my choice,"she said. Campbell's bigger concern is about her job. She's one of about 2,000 people working for Lorillard in Greensboro, where generations have found jobs paying enough for them to buy homes and take care of their families. Lorillard executives won't predict what would become of the Greensboro plant should the FDA ban menthol in cigarettes. The company just started making a menthol-free Newport in November, but it's too soon to say whether it will catch on, said Bob Bannon, Lorillard's director of investor relations. Lorillard's corner of the cigarette market depends on menthol, which workers spray on tobacco before rolling it in paper. They make a third of the menthol cigarettes sold in the U.S., accounting for about 10 percent of the total cigarette market. FDA officials say they are a long way from having an answer to the menthol question. Congress obliged them to study, and scientists have been meeting to do just that. A report is due to the FDA secretary in March, but there are no deadlines or expectations after that. "The FDA has made no statements about potentially banning menthol," said Lawrence R. Deyton, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products.[/release] Personally, I think the "it makes kids smoke" argument is bullshit. Kids don't need menthol to start smoking, they'll just smoke light cigarettes or something. I can imagine a lot of people being very pissed off if this goes through.
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26597547] Personally, I think the "it makes kids smoke" argument is bullshit. Kids don't need menthol to start smoking, they'll just smoke light cigarettes or something. I can imagine a lot of people being very pissed off if this goes through.[/QUOTE] Yeah but having a familiar taste makes it easier to swallow, literally and metaphorically. The same deal with alcohol. That's the logic behind it.
I'm less pissed about this than I was about the other flavors. Menthol is nasty.
I retain my stance as the founding member of the kill-all-smokers-before-smoking-kills-them party. Inb4mentholbreedsmoreblackmarkets
[QUOTE=s0beit;26597660]I retain my stance as the founding member of the kill-all-smokers-before-smoking-kills-them party. Inb4mentholbreedsmore[b]blackmarkets[/b][/QUOTE] I see what you did there. [editline]10th December 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Mister_Jack;26597643]I'm less pissed about this than I was about the other flavors. Menthol is nasty.[/QUOTE] Meh, it's good when you have a cold or shit.
[QUOTE=s0beit;26597660]I retain my stance as the founding member of the kill-all-smokers-before-smoking-kills-them party.[/QUOTE] You can take comfort knowing that every single person who votes for you is a retard
[QUOTE=Zeke129;26597722]You can take comfort knowing that every single person who votes for you is a retard[/QUOTE] Glad to receive your vote, allow me to kiss your baby
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26597665] Meh, it's good when you have a cold or shit.[/QUOTE] Shouldn't be smoking when you have a cold... [editline]9th December 2010[/editline] Or at all really, but we all know that.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;26597722]You can take comfort knowing that every single person who votes for you is a retard[/QUOTE] A better way to characterize them would be as people who are for restricting individual liberty to the point where people can't even do what they want with their own body without facing death for it.
[QUOTE=SergeantDead;26597778]who cares if kids smoke, let darwin have his way[/QUOTE] Exactly. With all the information available today, anyone who smokes must know the health risks.
Heh, my father grew up in NC. He primed tobacco as a child, and he smoked up until the age of 98 when he died. No cancer, his lungs were in perfect shape, and he was still jogging a mile every other morning.
Fuck yes. My hometown is the shit. Go get 'em, Raleigh.
What a load of crap. It is a way of trying to slowly kill an industry they don't like with the justification that they are saving the children. What's the next step, forcing tobacco companies to make their product taste absolutely dreadful because otherwise the kids might be attracted to the timeless old fashion tobacco flavor. Why not start banning alcoholic drinks that are strawberry flavored. Don't they make kids want to try it? They are in no way doing benefits to minors, they are only taking away options from adults.
[QUOTE=Agoat;26598241]Fuck yes. My hometown is the shit. Go get 'em, Raleigh.[/QUOTE] Definitely. Used to live in NC and travel to Raleigh fairly often. It's like an oasis of normal people in a sea of rednecks.
[QUOTE=SergeantDead;26597778]who cares if kids smoke, let darwin have his way[/QUOTE] Yes, because smokers are clearly an inferior breed of people. Or maybe it is that you see yourself to be superior over them.
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26598259]Definitely. Used to live in NC and travel to Raleigh fairly often. It's like an oasis of normal people in a sea of rednecks.[/QUOTE] I used to live across the street from Sanderson High School. I miss it so much.
Coming from someone who started as a teenage smoker: This will do NOTHING. You know what will happen when they ban menthols? The FEW kids who smoke them will move up to normal cigarettes. 90% of high-school smokers I knew NEVER smoked menthol and HATED the minty taste. Unless the occasional time when you're sick with a sore throat/cough and the menthols feel really soothing.
FDA can suck a big fat penis, Ill put whatever substances into my body that I want.
Maybe they should think about it as a positive to current smokers? I mean, If I smoked, I don't want my insides piping like a chimney. Would be nice to have some cool sensation. And I don't think it would help anyone to remove it, people who are already addicted wouldn't stop either way without professional help or some kind of nicotine patch.
[QUOTE=jjsullivan;26598909]Maybe they should think about it as a positive to current smokers? I mean, If I smoked, I don't want my insides piping like a chimney. Would be nice to have some cool sensation. And I don't think it would help anyone to remove it, people who are already addicted wouldn't stop either way without professional help or some kind of nicotine patch.[/QUOTE] Menthols just cool your throat, they don't actually cool down the smoke or make it less potent.
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26597772]A better way to characterize them would be as people who are for restricting individual liberty to the point where people can't even do what they want with their own body without facing death for it.[/QUOTE] same thing
Thank you government for being our parents
In highschool most kids who smoked used American Spirits because "It has no nicotine it isn't addicting!" Yet they would ALWAYS skip class to go smoke in the corner of the parking lot every day, which I thought was hilarious.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;26598971]In highschool most kids who smoked used American Spirits because "It has no nicotine it isn't addicting!" Yet they would ALWAYS skip class to go smoke in the corner of the parking lot every day, which I thought was hilarious.[/QUOTE] They must have confused "no additives" with "no nicotine". Nicotine-free tobacco would be like THC-free weed.
Only fat Jersey housewives smoke menthol.
[QUOTE=Splendor;26598992]Only fat Jersey housewives smoke menthol.[/QUOTE] Also gangstas.
Just ban cigarettes already.
[QUOTE=GodKing;26599002]Just ban cigarettes already.[/QUOTE] Because that won't result in the creation of a huge black market. :rolleyes:
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26598987]They must have confused "no additives" with "no nicotine". Nicotine-free tobacco would be like THC-free weed.[/QUOTE] I've never felt a tobacco head rush or calm. I just like smoking occasionally. The taste can be cool.
I find smoking is very helpful in dealing with stressful situations like work, relationships, and not having had a smoke for a few hours. [QUOTE=T2L_Goose;26598965]Thank you government for being our parents[/QUOTE] No, if they were being our parents, they'd enacted a [B]Federal Make People Smoke Every Cigarette in the Pack and See How Cool it is Then Act. [/b]
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