US
Scott Gottlieb, MD, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that the use of flavors in different tobacco products could potentially do “both harm and good.” According to Gottlieb, FDA will examine both possibilities as it considers prohibiting flavors such as menthol in cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Four years ago, FDA said that menthol cigarettes were more difficult to quit and likely posed a higher health risk than regular cigarettes—findings the tobacco industry has rejected. The agency has since then been considering regulatory action on menthol sales but has remained quiet on the issue for the last few years.“
On this issue, we see two sides—on the one hand, we need to know the role that flavors, including menthol, play in attracting youth to initiate tobacco use,” said Gottlieb. “But on the other hand, we also need to know whether certain flavors may help adult cigarette smokers switch to potentially less harmful forms of nicotine delivery.” Gottlieb also said FDA planned to issue regulations based on flavors’ “net impact to public health.”