BEGINNING OF THE END OF MENTHOL
CIGARETTES IN THIS COUNTRY.
THE FDA IS ANNOUNCING IT’S
WORKING ON A PROPOSAL TO BAN
THEM WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR ALONG
WITH ALL FLAVORED CIGARS.
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN MENTHOL
CIGARETTES ARE EASIER TO GET
ADDICTED TO AND HARDER TO QUIT
THAN REGULAR TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
FOR DECADES MENTHOL CIGARETTES
HAVE BEEN TARGETED TO BLACK
AMERICANS.
MORE THAN 85% USE MENTHOL
CIGARETTES WAY UP FROM 10% IN
THE ’50s AND THREE TIMES THE
RATE OF WHITE SMOKERS.
I’M JOINED BY THE U.S. SURGEON
GENERAL DR. VIVEK MURTHY.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
>> THANKS SO MUCH, HALLIE.
IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU.
>> IT’S A GREAT MORNING TO HAVE
YOU WITH THIS DEVELOPING NEWS
OUT FROM THE FDA AS THE
COUNTRY’S TOP DOCTOR, DO YOU
PERSONALLY SUPPORT THIS MOVE TO
BAN MENTHOL CIGARETTES?
>> WELL, HALLIE, LET ME JUST SAY
THE SUBJECT OF MENTHOL
CIGARETTES HAS BEEN A TOPIC OF
GREAT CONCERN IN THE MEDICAL AND
PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY FOR
MANY, MANY YEARS.
MY PREDECESSOR’S FORMER SURGEON
GENERAL AND MYSELF HAVE WRITTEN
AND SPOKEN ABOUT THIS IN THE
PAST.
HERE’S WHY THERE’S SUCH GREAT
CONCERN.
WHAT THE SCIENCE TELLS US IS
THAT MENTHOL IS A FACTOR IN
INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF
ADULTS EXPERIMENTING WITH
CIGARETTES AND LIKELIHOOD OF
THEM MOVING TO SMOKING
REGULARLY.
ON THE OTHER SIDE ALSO, WE KNOW
THAT MENTHOL CAN MAKE -- CAN BE
MORE ADDICTIVE FOR SOME PEOPLE
AND CAN MAKE IT HARDER TO QUIT.
WE KNOWS ALSO THAT THE
DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF
MENTHOL CIGARETTES, THE BURDEN
OF THE HARM REALLY, FALLS UPON
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UPON LBGTQ
INDIVIDUALS AND THE POOR.
WE’VE GOT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS
IS NOT ONLY A PRODUCT THAT IS
CONTRIBUTING TO TOBACCO RELATED
DEATHS, BUT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER
DESPITE ALL THE HEADLINES
FOCUSED ON COVID-19, THAT
TOBACCO-RELATED DISEASE REMAINS
THE LEADING CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE
DEATH IN THE COUNTRY.
THIS ACTION THAT FDA IS LOOKING
TO TAKE WOULD HELP US TO REDUCE
THAT BURDEN OF DISEASE.
IT’S SOMETHING PUBLIC HEALTH
ADVOCATES HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR
FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
>> YOU TALK ABOUT THE
DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON BLACK
AND BROWN COMMUNITIES AND WE
TALKED ABOUT THAT IN THE
INTRODUCTION AS WELL.
THE ACLU AND OTHERS ARGUE THAT A
BAN COULD HURT THE COMMUNITIES
SAYING THE BAN COULD TRIGGER
CRIMINAL PENALTIES WHICH WOULD
HURT PEOPLE OF COLOR AND
PRIORITIZE CRIMINALIZATION OVER
HEALTH AND HARM REDUCTION.
HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT MAKE
SURE THIS DOES NOT LEAD TO THE
UNFAIR TARGETING OF BLACK AND
BROWN PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY?
>> WELL, IT’S A REALLY IMPORTANT
POINT, HALLIE.
THE GOAL IS NOT TO CREATE OTHER CHALLENGES.
IT’S SO SOLVE A FUNDAMENTAL
PROBLEM.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THOUGH,
TOBACCO AND NICOTINE, THE
ADDICTIVE COMPONENT IN TOBACCO,
THIS IS PART OF EFFECTIVELY A
BROADER CATEGORY OF SUBSTANCE
USE DISORDERS.
WE RECOGNIZE IN THIS COUNTRY
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS ARE AN
ILLNESS, SOMETHING THAT SHOULD
BE TREATED WITH COMPASSION AND
TREATMENT AND NOT WITH
INCARCERATION OR WITH
PUNISHMENT, AND I THINK THAT’S
THE APPROACH WE HAVE TO TAKE
HERE AS WELL, WHETHER DEALING
WITH TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OPIOIDS.
THE IDEA IS THE SAME.
OUR GOAL SHOULD BE TO TAKE EVERY
STEP POSSIBLE TO PROTECT
COMMUNITIES FROM THESE KIND OF
SUBSTANCES WHICH CAN BE
ADDICTIVE AND PROTECT OUR
CHILDREN WHO WHEN THEY DEVELOP,
AGAIN, THIS HABIT AROUND SMOKING
AND TOBACCO USE, THAT CAN IMPACT
THEM FOR YEARS TO COME AND
BECOMES A LIFE-LONG HABIT THAT
IS HARD FOR MANY TO SHAKE.
>> I WANT TO TURN TO COVID
QUICKLY.
YOU’VE BEEN OUTSPOKEN ON THE
ISSUE OF E-CIGARETTES GENERALLY.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR THIS BAN
WOULD NOT APPLY TO E-CIGARETTES,
RIGHT?
DO YOU THINK THAT SHOULD BE PART
OF A FUTURE ACTION BY THE
GOVERNMENT?
>> WELL, CERTAINLY THIS CURRENT
ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY APPLIES TO
REGULAR CIGARETTES.
THERE’S A RELATED PORTION OF THE
ANNOUNCEMENT THAT APPLY TO
FLAVORS IN CIGARS.
E-CIGARETTES, YOU KNOW, ARE ALSO
A DEEP POINT OF CONCERN MORE
BROADLY.
IN 2016 I ISSUED THE FIRST
FEDERAL REPORT ON E-CIGARETS IN
YOUTH BECAUSE OF MY CONCERN WE
WERE SEEING EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH
IN THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN WHO
ARE ACTUALLY USING E-CIGARETTE
PRODUCTS WHICH MEANT THEY ARE
RUNNING THE RISK OF DEVELOPING
AN ADDICTION TO NICOTINE AND
GOING ON TO USE OTHER
TOBACCO-RELATED SUBSTANCES.
WE STILL HAVE MILLIONS OF
CHILDREN IN OUR COUNTRY USING
THESE TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND
FLAVORS ARE A CRITICAL REASON
WHY.
WE CONTINUE IT NEED TO MAKE MORE
ACTION ON THE CIGARETTE FRONT.
TODAY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP
FORWARD IN REDUCING THE OVERALL
CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE WITH