Today, the FDA announced its proposed rule on product standards to ban menthol flavoring in cigarettes and non-tobacco flavors in cigars.
"The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Menthol imparts a minty flavor to a range of consumer products, and in cigarettes and cigars, its use can make tobacco more appealing. The FDA noted in a fact sheet that it also "interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance nicotine's addictive effects and makes it more difficult for people to quit smoking."
The FDA's enforcement of the rule would not target individual consumers; its rule is intended to confront the industry — manufacturers, distributors and retailers, for instance.
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