Shah: Federal menthol flavoring ban could help reduce teen vaping & tobacco use – Long Island Business News

Recently, the Biden Administration put a regulation on hold by the Food and Drug Administration, which would ban menthol in all cigarettes and cigars. As a 16-year-old high school student, it has taken the FDA my entire lifetime to determine menthol cigarettes are dangerous; enacted only after several lawsuitsasserting menthol cigarettes as a tool to quit smokingrigorous scientific evaluation and public statements by Big Tobacco. The standard would reduce the appeal of cigarettes, particularly to youth, and decrease the likelihood that non-users who would otherwise experiment with menthol cigarettes, would progress to regular cigarettes, according to an FDA report. The report highlights dissociating menthol from cigarettes would reduce the temptation of these products to kids my age. The regulation would ban menthol flavoring, originally excluded from the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which outlawed most flavors.

Flavors facilitate addiction, especially for youth. Additionally, menthol use is pervasive across all high school friend groups. Some bow to peer pressure, while others use it to calm anxiety. A highschooler finds a birthday cake flavored vape more appealing than a standard, unflavored vape.

Menthol is no exception. This flavoring changes the way the brain registers pain and taste sensations. It is particularly enticing to kids my age: In 2023, 40.4% of middle and high school cigarette smokers used menthol flavors, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Supported by the increased marketing to those under 18, menthol cigarettes are a gateway to lifelong addiction.

According to the American Lung Association, 87% of adult smokers began in their teens.

Instead of just delaying a public health intervention, which could save millions of lives, the current federal administration should implement and expand this prohibition on menthol to vape products.

The use of menthol flavoring in e-cigarettes in teens rose from 16% in 2016 to 57.3% in 2019. Although high school vaping rates declined in 2023, from 14% to 10%, 1 out of 4 of these students report daily use, a precursor to addiction. In order to make a more significant public health impact, the current regulations surrounding combustible cigarettes should also include e-cigarettes.

Last year, New York State increased the tax on a pack of combustible cigarettes by $1 but failed to take any action against menthol-flavored cigarettes. While federal action is halted, New York State should feel increased urgency to prohibit the sale of menthol flavor cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The delay in prohibiting menthol in cigarettes and cigars raises concerns about the impact on youth addiction. The evidence suggests that prohibiting menthol would decrease youth tobacco use, presenting an opportunity to make a substantial public health intervention to prevent lifelong addiction.

Sajan Shah is a Syosset High School student and a member of the Tobacco Kills NY Coalition.

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Shah: Federal menthol flavoring ban could help reduce teen vaping & tobacco use - Long Island Business News