William R. True, senior vice president of research and development for Lorillard, told the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) to "keep in mind that Congress' purpose of granting FDA with authority to regulate tobacco was to create order and supervision [image-nocss] of the industry--not create chaos the likes of which have not been seen since prohibition."
While "scientific proof of a disproportional impact of menthol on public health does not exist, countervailing effects like black markets and increased crime are real and proven," True said.
The congressional mandate to the FDA and the advisory committee was to consider the impact of the use of menthol in cigarettes on public health and to address countervailing effects of any recommendation, True said. Restriction on any market segment would have an impact on consumption, True said, but that is not what Congress asked the agency to do.
"You could impose restrictions on any taste preference segment in the market--whether menthol, non-menthol, lower tar, higher tar, filter or unfiltered cigarettes--and have some impact on quitting," he said. "But, that is a very different question than whether that same segment has a unique and disproportionate impact on public health."
"We believe the evidence clearly shows that there is no justification for increased regulation of menthol cigarettes," he added.
True said the science is clear: "The overwhelming scientific and real world market data demonstrates that there is no difference in disease, initiation, cessation or dependence between menthol and non-menthol cigarettes."
The advisory committee is expected to submit a non-binding recommendation on the use of menthol in cigarettes to the FDA by March 23, 2011. A slide presentation, "Myth versus Reality," which reviews scientific research findings on the impact of the use of menthol in cigarettes, is available at www.understandingmenthol.com, a Lorillard-sponsored website.
Lorillard is the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States. Newport, Lorillard's flagship menthol-flavored premium cigarette brand, is the top-selling menthol and second-largest-selling cigarette in the United States. In addition to Newport, the Lorillard product line has four additional brand families marketed under the Kent, True, Maverick and Old Gold brand names. These five brands include 43 different product offerings which vary in price, taste, flavor, length and packaging. Lorillard maintains its headquarters and manufactures all of its products in Greensboro, N.C.
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