Prevent Cancer Foundation applauds FDA proposal to eliminate menthol cigarettes
PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA
Contact: Lisa Berry Edwards
703-519-2107
Lisa.Edwards@preventcancer.org
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced plans to ban menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars. The announcement is in response to a citizen petition and subsequent lawsuit filed by public health organizations calling on the FDA to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes.
Cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and is linked to several other types of cancer, as well as other serious diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Prohibition of menthol cigarettes is supported by scientific evidence that has consistently proven menthol makes cigarettes more addictive and harder for smokers to quit. Studies show that menthol was responsible for 10.1 million extra smokers, 378,000 premature deaths, and 3 million life years lost in the U.S. between 1980 to 2018.
Black Americans have long been targeted by the tobacco industry with predatory marketing for menthol cigarettes and have paid an enormous price in health and lives. Today, 85% of Black smokers smoke menthols, compared to less than 10% in the 1950s. Largely because of menthol cigarettes, Black smokers have a harder time quitting smoking and die at higher rates from tobacco-related diseases like cancer, heart disease and stroke.
As an organization committed to stopping cancer before it starts and reducing health disparities, the Prevent Cancer Foundation offers our full support of the FDA’s commitment to eliminating menthol cigarettes to reduce the cancer burden and save lives.
Acerca de la Fundación Prevent Cancer®
La Fundación para Prevenir el Cáncer® is celebrating 35 years as the only U.S. nonprofit organization focused solely on saving lives across all populations through cancer prevention and early detection. Through research, education, outreach and advocacy, we have helped countless people avoid a cancer diagnosis or detect their cancer early enough to be successfully treated.
La Fundación está avanzando para afrontar el desafío de reducir las muertes por cáncer en 40% para 2035. Para lograrlo, nos comprometemos a invertir $20 millones en tecnologías innovadoras para detectar el cáncer tempranamente y avanzar en la detección de múltiples cánceres, $10 millones para ampliar la detección del cáncer y la vacunación. acceso a comunidades médicamente desatendidas, y $10 millones para educar al público sobre las opciones de detección y vacunación.
Para mayor información por favor visite www.preventcancer.org.