PMI already owned over 40% of RBH anyway but this is an interesting move for PMI - what’s next?

More acquisitions in Canada?

Does this signal an interest in Virginia markets?

Should menthol be banned as a flavor under proposed FDA regulations?

How does this affect consumers?

Is it really just another flavor like strawberry or peach?

Does this start kids smoking or is this a myth?

This week, The house passed by a large bipartisan majority, the Bill regulating tobacco under the control of the FDA.

What are your thoughts - will it pass, and if so when?

If you don’t think it will pass - do you think this is good?

These days you almost can’t talk about lower tar cigarettes without the ensuing argument of compensatory smoking and the misleading intent of the cigarette manufacturers deliberately producing lower tar products and misleading the public.

But the debate raises a fundamental flaw in the public health community’s argument for low tar cigarettes.

Why is it that the original surgeon general’s findings in the US and UK both concluded there were health risks with smoking and that the evidence was the more you smoked the higher the risk?

Assuming this is correct - and if you want further evidence read my post on menthol cigarettes - then smoking lower tar cigarettes or fewer must have advantages. Right?

Some governments appear to agree. The EU, Canada, Brazil and Saudi Arabia all have tar ceilings.

Elements of the WHO and CDC and many public health advocates choose mostly to ignore this key point.

Again it is the consumer who bears the brunt of this  - surely they should benefit (albeit not as much as using other tobacco products) from lower tar or less harmful cigarette developments?

Where is the constructive debate on lower tar products and reduced risk in cigarette smoking? Would FDA regulation help drive this?

As it currently stands menthol cigarettes will be exempted as a flavor additive in proposed FDA regulation.

If you are a supporter of menthol cigarettes, and about 28% of the US smoking population is; this is good news.

If you are against menthol cigarettes or smoking in general - this is not good news. But what’s the big deal?

Demographics and harm reduction  - that’s the big deal.

Let’s start by clarifying a couple of points. It is a food-safe natural product (although there are synthetic menthols too) which is pervasive - toothpaste and candy are two examples. Menthol is not inherently harmful and there is no evidence that it creates any problems when added to cigarettes. Generally quite the contrary - 28% of US smokers really like it and a disproportionate percentage of them are African Americans.

This is the demographic part where things become a little more sensitive. There is some epidemiological evidence that African American smokers appear to have higher incidences of health risks. Is it the menthol many are asking?

The truth is most menthol cigarettes are higher in tar than their peers - and this is most likely the cause - not the menthol.

Interestingly hardly anybody is bringing this up. It would be relatively easy to reduce the tar in menthol products to match non-menthol brands.

A step program to reduce tar levels over time with menthol products would allow smokers to migrate to a lower tar product without noticing a step change. Admittedly a small benefit - but an important benefit nontheless.