The Debate on Regulating Menthol Cigarettes: Closing a Dangerous Loophole vs Freedom of Choice

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 104, No. 7, pp. e54-e61 (2014)

Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 203-2014

Posted: 25 Oct 2014

See all articles by Andrew Cheyne

Andrew Cheyne

Berkeley Media Studies Group

Lori Dorfman

Berkeley Media Studies Group; School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley

Richard A. Daynard

Northeastern University - School of Law

Pamela Mejia

Berkeley Media Studies Group

Mark Gottlieb

Public Health Advocacy Institute

Date Written: July 1, 2014

Abstract

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act exempted menthol from a flavoring additive ban, tasking the Tobacco Products Safety Advisory Committee to advise on the scientific evidence on menthol. To inform future tobacco control efforts, we examined the public debate from 2008 to 2011 over the exemption. Health advocates regularly warned of menthol’s public health damages, but inconsistently invoked the health disparities borne by African American smokers. Tobacco industry spokespeople insisted that making menthol available put them on the side of African Americans’ struggle for justice and enlisted civil rights groups to help them make that case. In future debates, public health must prioritize and invest in the leadership of communities most affected by health harms to ensure a strong, unrelenting voice in support of health equity.

Note: © American Journal of Public Health.

Keywords: Cigarettes, Menthol

Suggested Citation

Cheyne, Andrew and Dorfman, Lori and Daynard, Richard A. and Mejia, Pamela and Gottlieb, Mark, The Debate on Regulating Menthol Cigarettes: Closing a Dangerous Loophole vs Freedom of Choice (July 1, 2014). American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 104, No. 7, pp. e54-e61 (2014), Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 203-2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2513838

Andrew Cheyne (Contact Author)

Berkeley Media Studies Group ( email )

2130 Center Street, Suite 302
Berkeley, 94704
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.bmsg.org/

Lori Dorfman

Berkeley Media Studies Group ( email )

2130 Center Street, Suite 302
Berkeley, 94704
United States

School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley ( email )

50 University Hall #7360
Berkeley, CA 94720-7360
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sph.berkeley.edu/lori-dorfman

Richard A. Daynard

Northeastern University - School of Law ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Pamela Mejia

Berkeley Media Studies Group ( email )

2130 Center Street, Suite 302
Berkeley, 94704
United States

Mark Gottlieb

Public Health Advocacy Institute ( email )

102 The Fenway
Room 117
Boston, MA 02115
United States

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