Thuốc lá bạc hà tai hại hơn thuốc lá không bạc hà

Cơ quan Kiểm soát Thực phẩm và Dược phẩm FDA của Mỹ nói rằng thuốc lá có mùi bạc hà có thể gây nguy hại cho sức khỏe hơn thuốc thường.

Hôm thứ Ba, FDA cho biết cuộc nghiên cứu của họ cho thấy bạc hà làm người nghiện thuốc khó bỏ hơn thuốc thường.

FDA cũng nói 40% giới trẻ tập tành hút điếu đầu tiên thường chọn thuốc có mùi bạc hà.

Bà Margaret Hamburg, Giám đốc FDA, nói rằng thuốc có mùi bạc hà là một vấn đề về y tế công cộng và có lẽ cần phải có thêm quy định.

Các công ty thuốc lá thêm bạc hà để giảm bớt vị gắt của khói.

Các nhóm chống thuốc lá đang đề nghị cấm hẳn thuốc lá bạc hà.

FDA should target menthol cigarettes

Minty fresh cigarettes may not be more toxic than non-menthol varieties, but they can be more addictive and more attractive to young smokers, a new study confirms.

The Food and Drug Administration should move quickly toward an outright ban on menthol additives in cigarettes, as Congress did for flavored cigarettes in 2009, or other means of regulation, including restrictions on advertising.

A scientific review released by the FDA last week - prompted by the 2009 changes in tobacco regulation - suggested that menthol makes it easier for people to start smoking by making tobacco smoke "smoother" and less harsh. Menthol has anesthetic properties, which contribute a cool, minty feeling to products that include it, ranging from cough drops and pain rubs to cigarettes.

Similar findings about the public health dangers posed by menthol cigarettes were announced by the FDA's advisory panel two years ago.

Menthol varieties account for a third of all cigarettes sold in this country, and new smokers, about 40 percent of them, choose menthols. Menthol varieties have greater use among minorities, teenagers and low-income people.

The tobacco industry argues that menthol is a flavoring, and there's no scientific basis to support regulating them differently. It so happens menthols are one of the few varieties of cigarettes with growing sales.

Two studies and a promise from the FDA to conduct further research create plenty of scientific basis for regulation of menthol in cigarettes. Protecting the tobacco industry's profit does not pose an adequate argument against.

Strategies on multiple fronts have helped the United States to reduce the number of adult smokers to the lowest levels in years. Those strategies include raising the price of cigarettes and banning smoking in workplaces and public spaces.

Another element in that battle has been educating consumers about tobacco marketing, which could 

be a crucial element in reducing the use of menthol cigarettes.

Whatever route the FDA chooses, it's clear that menthol cigarettes pose greater danger of addiction. Regulating menthols should be part of continuing efforts to decrease the number of new smokers and increase the number of those who quit.