SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco has opened up a new round of debate over menthol—a core cigarette flavor that makes up a third of the market by some estimates—as lawmakers proposed a new ordinance banning the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes.
During an announcement on the steps of San Francisco City Hall this week, Supervisor Maila Cohen announced the proposed ordinance that would ban flavors, including menthol, in cigarettes, cigars and electronic products, according to the Bay City News Service.
Lawmakers from neighboring Oakland, who were also at the event in San Francisco, said they would introduce similar legislation later this month.
“The tobacco industry targets young adults, African Americans and LGBTQ people, deceptively associating these products with fruit, mints and candy,” said Cohen, who is the lead author of the legislation. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who spoke at the event, has endorsed the proposal.
Cohen said tobacco companies focus on young people as a marketing strategy “to protect their bottom line by constantly cultivating new users.”
The Tobacco Control Act of 2009 banned flavors in cigarettes but exempted menthol, putting the onus on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct studies of the leading flavor for cigarettes. The resulting research pointed to a ban, but a series of legal challenges from tobacco companies have kept menthol cigarettes on the market. Officials with Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc. have estimated that menthol cigarettes account for almost a third of cigarette sales.
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