Ban on Menthol Cigarettes and Flavoured Cigars

In News 

• Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed rules for banning menthol cigarettes and all flavoured cigars.

Major Points 

• The FDA clarified that it will not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavoured cigars”.
  • The rules will only “address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers who manufacture, distribute, or sell such products.
• Nearly 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes as compared to 30% white smokers, and that modelling studies estimate a 15% overall reduction in smoking over age 40 if menthol cigarettes were unavailable.
  • Menthol cigarettes see a disproportionately high usage in the African American community than by White Americans. 

Rationale behind the move 

• Menthol, with its minty taste and aroma, “reduces the irritation and harshness of smoking. 
  • This increases appeal and makes menthol cigarettes easier to use, particularly for youth and young adults. 
• Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance nicotine’s addictive effects, while making it more difficult for people to quit smoking.” 
• The high rate of usage of these cigarettes means the proposed ban will affect a large share of the smoker population, specially young adults and racially disadvantaged groups, who are less likely to be able to afford counselling and institutional help to quit.
• It is aimed at curbing smoking in the American population and  also “reducing tobacco-related health disparities”.
• The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit.

Criticism of the proposed ban

• Tobacco firms have disputed the scientific evidence that menthol cigarettes are more harmful than regular cigarettes. 
• Other critics have claimed that the ban will cause the government significant revenue loss, while some have said it will harm more than help African Americans.
• Some activists have flagged concerns that the ban could push Black smokers towards “criminalisation”. 

Laws governing menthol cigarettes around the world

• The first country in the world to ban menthol cigarettes was Brazil, in 2012.
• Canada banned these cigarettes in 2017, and the European Union in May 2020. Though the UK had left the EU by then, it too adopted the ban. 
• Turkey, Moldova, and Ethiopia have also banned menthol cigarettes

Tobacco consumption in India 

• India has 26.7 crore tobacco users aged 15 and above, as per the last available Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2016-17) — 18% of the population uses smokeless tobacco, 7% smoke, and 4% use both.
• Tobacco use among 15-24-year-olds has been reducing in India, from 18.4% in GATS-1 (2009-10) to 12.4% in GATs-2 (2016-17), a relative reduction of 33%.
  • In India, e-cigarettes are banned.
• India has no official estimate on the number of people who use menthol or other flavoured cigarettes, but availability of various flavours has increased over the years.
  • If India were to ban menthol and other flavoured cigarettes, the impact might be limited, given that chewing tobacco and bidi are the most common forms of tobacco use.

Consequences of  Tobacco Consumption

• Tobacco use has negative social consequences as it affects social interactions and relationships negatively.
• The tobacco industry exploits farmers and children and deteriorates growers’ health as they are exposed to ill health by nicotine that is absorbed through the skin, as well as exposure to heavy pesticides and tobacco dust.
• It has physical impacts on almost every body part and their functions and increases the risk of cancers, heart diseases and other fertility and reproduction-related problems.
• Smokers face a higher risk of developing severe disease deaths from Covid-19.
• Tobacco causes air pollution and pollutes the environment as cigarette butts are among the most commonly discarded pieces of waste globally.

Legislation governing tobacco  in India 

• Tobacco regulation laws in India are covered under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, or COTPA, and include “restrictions on advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products; prohibiting smoking in public places; prohibiting sale to and by minors; and prohibiting sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions, and through mandatory depiction of specified pictorial health warnings on all tobacco product packs.”
• In 2019, the Centre banned electronic cigarettes. 
  • In addition, different states have their own rules in place banning hookah consumption, including flavoured hookahs, in public places.

• National Health Policy 2017: It sets an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use by 30 per cent by 2025, which has been devised keeping in view the targets for control of NCDs.
• National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP)
  • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007- 08 in 42 districts of 21 States/Union Territories of the country.

Additional measures need to be taken for tobacco control

• Schools can raise awareness of the dangers of initiating nicotine and tobacco use by providing information resources and making their campuses tobacco-free. 
• Youth groups can organise local events to engage and educate young people on the many harms of tobacco use, including its impact on personal finances. 
• Celebrities and social influencers can reject offers of “brand ambassadorship” and refuse sponsorship by nicotine and tobacco industries
• There is a need for oversight on social media platforms, content streaming websites, and web based shopping portals.

Source:IE