Residences
November 2013
(Originally issued November 2010)
This material was made possible by funds received from Grant Number 09-11182 with the California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program.
© 2013 California Department of Public Health.This material may not be reproduced or disseminated without prior written permission from the California Department of Public Health.
ChangeLab Solutions is a nonprofit organization that provides legal information on matters relating to public health. The legal information provided in this document does not constitute legal advice or legal representation. For legal advice, readers should consult a lawyer in their state.
INTRODUCTION
ChangeLab Solutions developed this Model Resolution to help local governments encourage the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate or completely ban the use of menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes. Once passed, a resolution may be submitted to the FDA and other officials to urge them to act in accordance with the resolution.
Menthol-flavored cigarettes currently account for 25 percent of cigarette sales in the United States. An overwhelming majority of menthol smokers are from minority populations, which are specifically targeted by the tobacco industry in its advertising and marketing campaigns.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), signed into law in June 2009, gave the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products. The law made most flavored cigarettes illegal but exempted menthol-flavored cigarettes.
However, the Tobacco Control Act provides that the FDA may create future regulations banning or restricting the use of menthol in cigarettes, pending a scientific review by the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). TPSAC is an independent advisory committee established by the Tobacco Control Act to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. In a report issued in 2011, TPSAC recommended that the removal of mentholated cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health.[1]
Following the release of the TPSAC report, the FDA undertook its own scientific review of the public health impact of menthol in cigarettes. In a report released in 2013, the FDA found menthol in cigarettes alters bodily response to tobacco smoke that reduces the perceived harshness of smoking because of menthol’s taste and cooling sensation; increases initiation and progression to regular cigarette smoking; results in a stronger dependence among people who smoke mentholated cigarettes when compared to people who smoke traditional cigarettes; and reduces success in smoking cessation, especially among African American menthol smokers.
The FDA is currently deciding what, if any, action to take to regulate mentholated cigarettes and other tobacco products. This model resolution, if adapted to reflect a jurisdiction’s position and passed, provides a mechanism for local governments to communicate to the FDA their opinion about the approach that the agency should take to regulate these products.
If you have questions about how to adapt this ordinance for your community, please contact ChangeLab Solutions through our website at www.changelabsolutions.org/tobaccoquestions for assistance.
Findings and Resolution:
WHEREAS, youth and young adults are significantly more likely to smoke mentholated cigarettes than older adults, as evidenced by the percentage of people who smoked mentholated cigarettes in the last month including:[2]
· 44.8% of youth aged 12 to 17;
· 36.5% of young adults aged 18 to 25; and
· 30.1% of adults aged 26 and older;
WHEREAS, people aged 12 and above from racial and ethnic minority groups are significantly more likely to smoke mentholated cigarettes, as evidenced by the percentage of people who smoked mentholated cigarettes in the last month including[3]
· 82.6% of Black or African Americans who smoke cigarettes;
· 53.2% of Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders who smoke cigarettes;
· 36.9% of individuals with multiracial backgrounds who smoke cigarettes;
· 32.3% of Hispanic or Latinos who smoke cigarettes;
· 31.2% of Asians who smoke cigarettes;
· 24.8% of American Indian or Alaska Natives who smoke cigarettes; and
· 23.8% of White or Caucasians who smoke cigarettes;
WHEREAS, mentholated and flavored products have been shown to be “starter” products for youth who begin smoking;[4], [5], [6]
WHEREAS, the tobacco industry has been manipulating the dose of menthol in cigarettes to ensure the uptake and continued use of tobacco, especially by young people and other vulnerable populations for many years;[7]
WHEREAS, the tobacco industry has a well-documented history of developing and marketing mentholated brands to racial and ethnic minorities and youth;[8], [9]
WHEREAS, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), enacted in 2009, contains a product standard prohibiting cigarettes from having candy, fruit, and spice as characterizing flavors because these flavors make tobacco products especially appealing to kids and can lead to a lifetime of tobacco addiction;[10]
WHEREAS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to establish additional product standards to promote public health, which can include eliminating or reducing certain ingredients;[11]
WHEREAS, the Tobacco Control Act’s ban on characterizing flavors in cigarettes expressly exempted menthol, pending a scientific review to be conducted by the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC), which is an independent advisory committee established the Tobacco Control Act to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services;[12]
WHEREAS, in 2011, TPSAC released a summary of its scientific review, which found[13]
· Menthol cigarettes have an adverse impact on public health in the U.S.;
· There are no public health benefits of menthol compared to non‐menthol cigarettes;
· The availability of menthol cigarettes increases experimentation and regular smoking;
· Menthol in cigarettes increases the likelihood of addiction and the degree of addiction in youth smokers;
· Menthol in cigarettes results in a lower likelihood of smoking cessation success in African Americans and other racial/ethnic groups when compared to those groups who smoke non‐menthol cigarettes; and
· There is a causal relationship between the availability of menthol cigarettes and regular smoking among youth;
WHEREAS, in 2013 the FDA conducted an additional scientific review of menthol in cigarettes and found that menthol in cigarettes is likely associated with the following:[14]
· An altered bodily response to tobacco smoke that reduces the perceived harshness of smoking because of menthol’s taste and cooling sensation;
· Increased initiation and progression to regular cigarette smoking;
· A stronger dependence on mentholated cigarettes than traditional cigarettes;
· Reduced success in smoking cessation, especially among African American menthol smokers;
WHEREAS, both scientific reviews by TPSAC and the FDA found marketing of menthol cigarettes likely increases the prevalence of smoking for the entire population and especially among youth, African Americans,[15] and possibly for Hispanic/Latinos according to TPSAC’s review;[16]
WHEREAS, scientific studies on the impact of a ban of menthol in cigarettes found 36.5% of menthol cigarette users would intend to quit smoking if menthol was banned [17] and between 300,000 and 600,000 lives would be saved by 2050;[18]
WHEREAS, the [City/County] of [______] is committed to the health and well being of its residents and is particularly concerned about preventing tobacco use among youth;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the [City Council/Board of Supervisors] of the [City/County] of [______] hereby supports the Food and Drug Administration’s exercise of its authority to ban the use of menthol as characterizing flavor in cigarettes and other tobacco products in the United States and work with appropriate entities to provide support to smokers of menthol cigarettes who will quit as a result of the requested prohibition on menthol cigarettes;[19]
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the [City Council/Board of Supervisors] shall send this resolution to the following individuals:
FDA Staff and Advisory Committee:
Mitch Zeller, JDDirector
Center for Tobacco Products
Food and Drug Administration
9200 Corporate Boulevard
Rockville, MD20850-3229 / Caryn Cohen, MS
Center for Tobacco Products
Food and Drug Administration
9200 Corporate Boulevard, Room 320W
Rockville, MD20850-3229
Dr. Jonathan Samet, MD, MS
Chair
Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee
Food and Drug Administration
9200 Corporate Boulevard
Rockville, MD20850-3229 / Margaret Hamburg, MD
Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary
Department of Health & Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Federal Elected Officials:
Senator Barbara BoxerUnited States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 / [U.S. Representative(s) that represent districts within your jurisdiction]
Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
comment: For a list of all California representatives, see www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml#ca. The list includes links to each representative’s website, which provides mailing addresses and indicates the jurisdiction represented. All local representatives should receive a copy of the resolution.
______
Name of Signatory Date
Model Menthol Resolution – page 6
ChangeLab Solutions – November 2013
[1] Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Menthol Cigarettes and Public Health: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations. 2011. www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM269697.pdf
[2] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, The NSDUH Report: Use of Menthol Cigarettes, Nov. 19, 2009. http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/134/134MentholCigarettes.htm
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] James C. Hershey et al., Are Menthol Cigarettes a Starter Product for Youth?, 8 Nicotine & Tobacco Res. 403, 403-13 (2006).
[6] Olivia Wackowski & Cristine D. Delnevo, Menthol Cigarettes and Indicators of Tobacco Dependence Among Adolescents, 32 Addictive Behav. 1964, 1964-69(2007).
[7] Jennifer M. Kreslake et al. Tobacco Industry Control of Menthol in Cigarettes and Targeting of Adolescents and Young Adults. 98 Am. J. Pub. Health 1685, 1685-1692 (2008). ; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, 2012.
[8] United States v. Philip Morris, 449 F. Supp. 2d 1, 71 (D.D.C. 2006) aff’d, 566 F.3d 1095 (D.C. Cir. 2009).
[9] Valerie B. Yerger et al., Racialized Geography, Corporate Activity, and Health Disparities: Tobacco Industry Targeting of Inner Cities, 18 J. of Health Care for the Poor & Underserved 10, 10-38 (2007).
[10] 21 U.S.C. § 387g(a)(1)(A) (2010).
[11] Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, Pub. L. No. 111-31, § 102, 123 Stat. 1776 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 5 U.S.C., 15 U.S.C., and 21 U.S.C.); 21 U.S.C. § 387a-1 (2010).
[12] Id.
[13] Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Menthol Cigarettes and Public Health: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations. 2011. www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM269697.pdf
[14] Food and Drug Adminstration. Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes. 2013. www.fda.gov/downloads/ScienceResearch/SpecialTopics/PeerReviewofScientificInformationandAssessments/UCM361598.pdf
[15] Food and Drug Adminstration. Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes. 2013. www.fda.gov/downloads/ScienceResearch/SpecialTopics/PeerReviewofScientificInformationandAssessments/UCM361598.pdf
[16] Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Menthol Cigarettes and Public Health: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations. 2011. www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM269697.pdf
[17] Richard J O’Connor et al., “What Would Menthol Smokers Do If Menthol in Cigarettes Were Banned? Behavioral Intentions and Simulated Demand.,” Addiction (Abingdon, England) 107, no. 7 (July 2012): 1330–8, doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03822.x.
[18] David T Levy et al., “Modeling the Future Effects of a Menthol Ban on Smoking Prevalence and Smoking-attributable Deaths in the United States.,” American Journal of Public Health 101, no. 7 (July 2011): 1236–40, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300179.
[19] Tobacco Control Legal Consortium et al.. Citizen Petition: Asking the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to Prohibit Menthol as a Characterizing Flavor in Cigarettes. (Apr. 12, 2013). www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/tclc-fdacitizenpetition-menthol-2013.pdf