Taking "Public Health" Too Far: FDA Panel Recommends Banning Menthol Cigarettes

Kevin Glass | March 19, 2011 7:45 AM

Mandated by the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, an FDA panel review on Friday concluded that the removal of menthol cigarettes from the market would be beneficial to "public health".

As the Los Angeles Times noted, this is equivalent to recommending that the FDA outlaw menthol cigs:

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel Friday said that "removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States."
The panel's assessment is, in effect, a recommendation that the FDA consider banning menthol, the flavoring used in about 30% of cigarettes smoked in the U.S.

Despite the panel's finding that menthol cigarettes are no more harmful than ordinary cigarettes, they arrived at their recommendation for a review and possibly a prohibition.