Public health experts are questioning why menthol flavoring in cigarettes, received special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the f

May 13, 2008 - Public health experts are questioning why menthol flavoring in cigarettes, received special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time.. Menthol is the most widely used cigarette flavoring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers. While fewer people are smoking, menthols' share of the overall cigarette market has grown steadily for several years. In 2000 about 26.5% of smokers were menthol smokers, in 2006 you're looking at 28.5% - menthols are approaching 30% of the $70 billion American cigarette market. The latest version of the bill released in July 2007 clove joined menthol as the only additives allowed in tobacco. An earlier version of the legislation released in February 2007 included cloves in a list of artificial or natural flavors like strawberry, chocolate and cocoa that would be banned from cigarettes largely because they had been used to appeal to children. On May 13, 2008 an individual with intimate knowledge of the process that led to the FDA tobacco legislation (Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act) that is currently before Congress has admitted, for the first time, that the legislation represents the results of a negotiation between the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Philip Morris (PM) and that a major compromise in the bill - the exemption for menthol and clove (TW) was inserted to appease Philip Morris and protect its profits. ( Senator Admits FDA Legislation Supporters Accepted Compromise to Appease Philip Morris; Supporters Sold Out Health of African Americans to Big Tobacco) PM introduced a clove-flavored (cigarettes known as kreteks) version of its Marlboro brand in Indonesia. In March 2005 PM acquired 98% of the shares of PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna, Indonesia’s third largest tobacco company behind Gudang Garam and Djarum. In Indonesia, a country of 230 million people, almost 70% of the male population smokes and of these 90% smoke kreteks. You can be sure that PM also has plans to market the clove containing cigarettes in the U.S.A., especially after watching the continuous growth of menthol cigarettes segment. Back on April 3, 2008 we worried this legislation will be flawed because the biggest player in the tobacco industry - Altria - Philip Morris has been directly involved in writing the bill. Image - Spud was the very 1st menthol cigarette - for more on menthol cigarettes. Related news briefs: April 18, 2008, April 7, 2008, April 3, 2008, April 1, 2008, March 28, 2008, March 13, 2008, February 21, 2008, December 10, 2007, December 7, 2007, October 15, 2007, October 5, 2007, August 2, 2007 and July 21, 2007. (TobaccoWatch.org)