Cigarette Menthol levels tampered?

[karenwest1961]

Study Finds Manipulation of Menthol Levels

I think we have known this for years and it's not necessarily just in menthol, but the menthol seems to hook younger and new smokers. I remember switching to menthol years ago so it could help me "quit" smoking. I figured if I gagged enough, I'd quit...but I ended up smoking more menthols than I did regulars. Anyway, what we have known for years is making news again this week. And I think we all know why.

Here's an interesting quote from the article (for you T-Bob)

A bill currently pending in Congress would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate or remove cigarette additives, including menthol. But while the legislation would immediately ban many other flavorings, it specifically exempts menthol.

 

[leaford]

How does this call for regulation? They manipulated the flavor so people would like it more and consume more? This is evil? How is it different than Coke changing their formula? They tailored flavor levels to particular markets? Coke has soft drinks with formulas catering to different demographics, too.

This is nothing at all like manipulating nicotine levels or absorption rates. Flavors are not addictive. Well, not literally anyway.

Heck, Caffine IS addictive and Coke has different soft drinks with different caffine levels.

I don't see the here.

 

[TropicalBob]

Rush Limbaugh made news when he picked up on the fact that a huge majority of black American smokers smoke menthol cigarette brands. So, Rush says, allowing only menthol as an additive flavor means the Congress is perfectly willing to let all the black folks get lung cancer!

This sparked a round of further debate in Congress. Should we let black folks kill themselves, or not? It's free choice. Yeh, but we have an obligation to protect them. So it goes.

And the antis will only be happy when all cigarettes make anyone smoking one throw up within one minute of lighting up.

 

[karenwest1961]

Yep leaford. The government wants to regulate additives in cigarettes. If they're going to do that, they NEED to step in and regulate some of these other additives that THEY approved for our food and water supply that's killing our collective asses. And I need not get started on that. There is not enough gigabytes here once I get on that soapbox.

The government can step in and regulate that menthol in my Hall's cough drops cuz I'm liking them too much. Especially when I'm sick and I eat 2 of them every 15 minutes.

 

[leaford]

And what about candy canes? 8-o

 

[TropicalBob]

You hear in their arguments against menthol the same arguments we'll face when e-devices are on the line. If there is any appeal to "young people" then we're offering a way to hook a new generation on the addictive nicotine drug! "All those flavored liquids! The fancy bling cigars! The colored cigs for young women! Omigod, these are products designed to appeal to ... young people." You know it's coming.

On the snus forum, there are kids -- and I mean middle and high school kids -- talking the talk and wantin' to know, you know, what the super strongest, baddest snus is. They ought to be turned upside down and whacked a few times with a billiard stick. They can be the death of the whole harm reduction movement for mature smokers because these nimnods are taking up a deadly addiction despite full knowledge.

Lawmakers will adopt any means to prevent nicotine products reaching their little unstained fingers stretching out for adulthood in a substance.

 

[TheEmperorOfIceCream]

Why can't they just drink beer like I did? Should keep the antis happy - it made me throw up in one minute first time I tried it...

 

[leaford]

I despise that whole, think about the children line of BS. Adults should not be denied something otherwise legal merely for fear kids will get them. Put them behind a counter, require ID, whatever. But protecting kids is no good reason to ban adults from owning and buying it.

 

[MNZ]

Here in New Zealand you can't buy any tobacco product unless you are 18+ and there are huge fines for doing it, $10,000 for the person selling them and $25,000 for the business as well. But kids do get them and will always continue to get them, exactly the same ways we did when we were kids.

I sell tobacco and we have to be extremely careful about the under-age thing, no ID no sale is the policy in my store.