Ohio State Cancer researcher, Theodore Wagener, PhD talks about banning menthol to eliminate nicotine addiction, especially in young people.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News in 2022.
We’re talking about vaping and nicotine addiction. Why the focus on menthol? What is it about the flavor in it that people are taking another look at?
WAGENER: The importance of menthol is the fact that it tends to make nicotine products easier to try. It’s easier for young people or non-smoker used to initiate with menthol products. It also makes them more addictive. It actually changes how nicotine is metabolized in the body. Due to that, people have a tendency to have a more difficult time quitting use of menthol tobacco products.
Is it just the menthol or is it really any flavor?
WAGENER: It is the menthol. Flavorings in general do seem to attract people to tobacco products, so that is important. But menthol is unique in the sense that it can manipulate the metabolism of nicotine. It also makes nicotine more palatable, but all flavors seem to do that as well.
What products do manufacturers use the nicotine flavoring? Is it primarily cigarettes or where are we going to see it?
WAGENER: The tobacco manufacturers use it in all their products, even cigarettes that aren’t labeled menthol cigarettes. Most of them have a sub-threshold level of menthol in them because they found that it makes a bit more palatable for smokers. There’s a certain threshold level of menthol in the product that needs to be in there, and then it’s called a menthol cigarettes. Most cigarettes actually do have some menthol in them.
What are regulators looking to do? What is the FDA looking to do?
WAGENER: What the FDA really wants to do is it wants to reduce the public health burden, that is, tobacco use in general. The disparities that menthol products tend to cause in both youth smokers, black and African-American smokers, and LGBTQ smokers. We tend to see that these groups initiate with menthol cigarettes at a higher rate than other groups, and they have a more difficult time quitting. Their goal is to follow what’s called a public health standard. They want to improve public health, and they view removing menthol from cigarettes and other tobacco products as a potential means to do that.
Where is the ban? Is it still going through the legal process?
WAGENER: It is back with FDA right now. The FDA made their proposal, they asked for public comment and comments from researchers like me, and now they’re living their decision.
In your mind, is it a good thing that they’re looking at this?
WAGENER: Yes, for sure. There’s no real benefit to adding menthol. It doesn’t improve public health. It makes it worse. If our goal is to help people quit smoking and quit using tobacco products, then this is one step towards achieving that goal.
Sometimes companies find ways and loopholes and ways around the regulations. What have you and other researchers looked at in terms of? What else should we consider?
WAGENER: That is really important because we actually just completed a study within the last year that showed that the FDA’s proposed ban doesn’t actually go far enough. That if they currently just banned flavorings in cigarettes and then filtered will cigars and cigars. It leaves open the possibility that smokers can use menthol roll your own pipe tobacco, and cigarette tubes to create a roll your own cigarette that’s mentholated. We tested that in a study and it was the most preferred menthol products when we simulated having a cigarette menthol cigarettes ban. People preferred that about four to one over menthol little cigars.
Is the role you’re on something that people are already doing? They’ve already seen what is coming, and can you tell me a little bit about that?
WAGENER: It’s definitely something that people are seeing and it’s also something the industry is pushing. The industry is putting the menthol roll your own pipe tobacco, which is not really pipe tobacco, it’s cigarette tobacco. They relabeled it about five or six years ago to get around tax hike and now are continuing to push it in the face of a potential menthol ban. They’re putting them on the shelves right next to menthol cigarettes and telling people they can continue to get their menthol cigarettes using this method as well.
You mentioned the pipe tobacco. Does that have a lower concentration or the same deal?
WAGENER: Piped menthol and pipe tobacco is a same level of nicotine as menthol cigarettes and actually the same level of menthol that’s in menthol cigarettes.
How tougher of a road is it when you’re from science, where you’re looking at something that’s not the public interests in public health, but you’re up against big tobacco?
WAGENER: It’s a pretty tough road going up against the tobacco industry. It’s also tough as a scientist in the sense that we don’t always deal in absolutes. We’re trying to get across subtleties, and sometimes the tobacco companies use that to their advantage by saying something like, “The science isn’t 100 percent clear on this.” Or something to that effect where they inject doubt. There is no doubt that combustible tobacco products with menthol cigarettes, cigars, are harmful. They cause cancer, they cause heart disease, we know this. It is also incredibly clear from the science that menthol products increase use among vulnerable populations and make it harder to quit. That is a sign and a reason why the tobacco industry is fighting this very hard. It’s to not only potentially help current smokers, but also to prevent millions of young people from starting this addiction that people wish they never started.
What’s the timeframe that they can consider it as long as they need to consider it?
WAGENER: They can consider it as long as they need to consider it and they could even pull it. That is what the current pressure campaign is from the industry. In other groups trying to prevent it. We can provide as much sciences or possibly can to show that, this would benefit public health, but there also has to be political will. I believe that’s what the industry is trying to cast doubt on. That there’s not as much support for this as FDA feels that they should have in order to do it. However, that’s probably a mistake.
END OF INTERVIEW
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