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A US scientific panel in March will weigh the controversial role of menthol flavouring in cigarettes in the first public meeting on tobacco products since a new law granted regulators power over the industry in 2009.
Over two days, the Food and Drug Administration's panel of outside experts will look at the health impact of the mint-like additive on smoker's use as well as addiction and health, with another meeting set later in 2010, the FDA said on March 1. The panel's findings and any possible regulatory action against menthol could be a potential blow to Lorillard, the nation's third largest cigarette company and maker of the top-selling menthol brand, Newport.
"It's the beginning of a long, slow funeral procession for menthol," said healthcare analyst Ira Loss of Washington Analysis Corp Lorillard, which also makes Kent, Maverick and True brand cigarettes, had no comment on the FDA meeting. While it is not immediately clear what action, if any, the FDA or its panel will take, the meetings will keep a heavy regulatory spotlight on the flavouring.
Menthol cigarettes, smoked by about 12 million Americans and 75 per cent of African American smokers, have come under scrutiny by antismoking advocates who say the taste can be more enticing and possibly addicting than regular cigarettes. Bipartisan legislation that gave the FDA oversight of cigarettes and other tobacco products banned other flavours such as chocolate, clove and fruit. But lawmakers exempted menthol, the most popular flavouring accounting for about 27 per cent of the cigarette market, and instead called for an FDA review.
The meeting will also offer the first public glimpse into the FDA's handling of the industry since the agency in August set up its new tobacco centre, opposed by most tobacco companies except the nation's largest cigarette maker, Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris unit. Credit Suisse in January downgraded the US tobacco sector to 'market weight' from 'overweight,' citing concerns about the growing threat of regulations. At the meeting, scheduled for March 30 and 31, FDA panellists will focus on who smokes menthol cigarettes and the flavouring's effects on how cigarettes are smoked.
Another meeting this summer will feature industry research and documents. Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which backed the new law, said it was too early to say what action the panel or the FDA may take. "We have to give them time to collect the scientific information," he said. Some experts and financial analysts have said they do not expect an outright ban on menthol, although the FDA could take such action, among other steps such as product label changes. Despite the cigarette flavouring ban, coffee, mint and others are still used in controversial dissolvable tobacco products sold by Reynolds American Inc and Star Scientific. Some experts had expected FDA's panel might first tackle such candy-like tobacco products.
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