The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced guidelines on Thursday to prohibit menthol cigarettes and all flavoured cigars, a move that will disproportionately affect Black smokers and young adults.
According to the FDA’s information sheet, approximately 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared to 30% of white smokers, and modelling studies predict a 15% overall drop in smoking over the age of 40 if menthol cigarettes were no longer accessible.
Given that chewing tobacco and bidi are the most frequent forms of tobacco use in India, a ban on menthol and other flavoured cigarettes may have a limited impact.
According to the most recent Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2016-17), India has 26.7 crore tobacco users aged 15 and above, with 18% using smokeless tobacco, 7% smoking, and 4% using both.
“The impact of such a measure would solely be on young individuals and ladies who are just starting to smoke,” says one smoker. Dr S K Arora, a chest physician and former head of Delhi’s Tobacco Control Cell who won a World Health Organization (WHO) award for his role in controlling tobacco use in India, said: “Menthol reduces the harshness, irritation, and somewhat the smell, making it appealing to those who have just started smoking or those who need to hide the smell from family members.”
“However, once a person has smoked for two weeks to a month, the flavour is unimportant. They will just smoke normal cigarettes if we remove the menthol flavour,” he warned.
“Menthol cigarettes frequently attract teenagers who start with a flavoured product and later transfer to conventional cigarettes,” Monika Arora, Director of the Public Health Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India, stated. Its prohibition might deter new users from starting to smoke.
There are also practical challenges with banning things. “Banning isn’t the answer. Is there a limit to how much you may prohibit? Dr. G K Rath, former director of the National Cancer Institute, predicted that “something will be smuggled in.” Gutkha and e-cigarettes are still accessible in India, despite the fact that they are illegal.
The number of individuals who smoke menthol or other flavoured cigarettes in India is unknown, although the variety of flavours available has grown over time.
Experts underlined the necessity for control on social media platforms, multimedia streaming websites, and web-based shopping portals, in addition to outlawing cigarette goods that attract young new users.
“Not only do these websites promote tobacco products, which is illegal, but they also make false claims about menthol cigarettes being less dangerous than conventional cigarettes… These are the areas that need to be controlled, according to Dr. Monika Arora.
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