American Lung Association: 141 Wisconsin health professionals sign letter in support of FDA proposal to end sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – (July 27, 2022) – Today, the American Lung Association in Wisconsin and United States Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) containing signatures of 141 health professionals from Wisconsin in support of the two proposed rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

The letter, which was signed by Wisconsin nurses, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, public health professionals, as well as other healthcare workers from across the country who are dedicated to protecting the lives of Americans, shows strong support for the proposed rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from the medical community.

Menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars are a key part of the tobacco industry’s playbook for attracting and hooking teenagers into becoming life-long smokers. Compared to less than a third of older smokers, more than half of smokers between 12 and 17 years old use menthol cigarettes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,
30% of Black Wisconsinites smoke compared to 12% of white Wisconsinites – almost three times higher. This disparity is the highest gap in the nation, underscoring the urgent need for FDA to remove menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from the market, which are smoked by Black Americans at significantly higher rates than white Americans.

Read the full letter here.

On April 28, the FDA announced two proposed rules, one to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and one to end the sale of flavored cigars. Following the proposal announcement, the public has until August 2, 2022 to submit comments. A period of review will follow before FDA releases the final rules.