Issue Date: Tobacco E-News March 15,
2011
TPSAC Meets on
Menthol
Associations and tobacco manufacturer speak
out at public hearing.
-By Linda
Abu-Shalback Zid
|
ROCKVILLE, Md.--Next week, the FDA's Tobacco Products
Scientific Advisory Committee is due to provide the FDA a
report and recommendations on the impact of the use of menthol
in cigarettes on the public health.
Toward that goal,
TPSAC held a meeting earlier this month, which included an
open public hearing consisting of four
speakers:
David Levy, Pacific Institute for
Research and Evaluation/Legacy. In the absence of a
menthol ban, Levy's research found that the percentage of
smokers who smoke menthol would increase slowly over time.
While there would be a downward trend in overall smoking
prevalence from 18.1% in 2003 to 9.2% in 2050, menthol market
share would increase among men, from 23% in 2003 to 27% in
2050.
If a ban were to be implemented, he said that
according to his research, there would be a "fairly immediate
effect," including "between 323,000 and 633,000 deaths
averted."
Jane Lewis, Altria Client
Services. Lewis said that Philip Morris USA (PM USA)
has shared in-depth analysis, including 3,600 internal
documents, with the FDA. The company's own analysis has found
that menthol cigarettes do not result in increased toxicity
compared to nonmenthol cigarettes, nor does it increase
dependence.
Research on the impact of menthol on
smoking initiation is currently limited, she said, suggesting
that there might be an opportunity to incorporate initial
questions into future national government surveys.
She
also discussed unintended consequences, such as illicit trade.
PM USA will be submitting its own perspective on
menthol to the agency by March 23rd.
Jim Tozzi,
Center for Regulatory
Effectiveness. Tozzi suggested that some of
the initiation/cessation studies being examined by TPSAC
aren't compliant with the Data Quality Act. "There's been a
storm of data on this proceeding," he said. "And if you look
through the big storm, I see one tree standing. That tree has
a sign coming down: 'Cannot base on science the ban of
menthol.'"
Niger Innis, Congress of Racial
Equality. Innis commented on the discussions that
often center on the propensity for African-American people to
smoke menthol. Expressing distaste for smoking himself, he
added, "But I think it's exponentially more offensive to my
sensibilities as a free man to suggest that we ought to
criminalize a particular type of legal product because a
particular community tends to like it."
TPSAC is slated
to have its final meeting March 17-18, before presenting its
findings and recommendations to the FDA by March
23.
CSP Category
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