The availability of menthol-flavored cigarettes is linked to a rise in the number of children and African Americans who smoke and the cigarettes should be taken off the market, an FDA advisory committee said Friday.

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee met to evaluate the available science on the impact of menthol cigarettes on public health, including children, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other ethnic and racial minorities. The group determined menthol cigarette smokers do not have a greater risk of diseases related to smoking when compared with non-menthol cigarette smokers. But, menthol in cigarettes increased experimentation, raised the risk of progression to a regular smoker, increased smoking among kids, and their availability increased the chance of addiction–and even the degree of addiction in children.

"The TPSAC also found that the public health impact of menthol cigarette availability is substantial," said Dr. Jonathan Samet, chair of the advisory panel. "The availability of menthol cigarettes leads to an increase in the number of cigarette smokers and the burden of premature mortality."

"The TPSAC's recommendation of removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States is simply that - a committee recommendation based on its review of current, prevailing science on the topic of menthol as an ingredient in cigarettes," said Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director, Center for Tobacco Products at the Food and Drug Administration. The report will be reviewed by experts at the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, who'll also review all of the available science related to public health implications of menthol in cigarettes use.

According to Deyton, TPSAC's final report must be submitted to the FDA by March 23. He says the agency will then do a thorough review and consider the risks and benefits to determine if regulatory action needs to be taken. The agency will provide its first progress report on the review of the science in approximately 90 days. In the meantime, he says, there will be no effect on the availability of menthol products.

Reynolds American, parent company of RJ Reynolds and maker of a number of menthol-flavored cigarettes including the very popular Kool, Camel and Pall Mall brands, says it plans to continue working with the FDA on this issue.

“The Agency now has input from the Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC), tobacco manufacturers and industry representatives, and from the general public,” said Jeffery S. Gentry, executive vice president of operations and chief scientific officer for R.J. Reynolds. “As the director of the Center for Tobacco Products at FDA said in his remarks today, the TPSAC report does not set FDA policy and it does not set FDA actions. It is information that the Agency will take into consideration in its analysis."

Gentry cautioned a number of issues still need more study, including the potential increase in cigarette smuggling and contraband if menthol cigarettes were no longer on the market.

﻿Lorillard, the country's third largest cigarette manufacturer and maker of Newport, the top selling menthol cigarette in the country said it is confident the FDA will conclude menthol cigarettes are no more dangerous than non-menthol cigarettes and should be regulated no differently. "While we fundamentally disagree, we are not surprised by what we believe is TPSAC's unsubstantiated conclusion relative to the impact of menthol cigarettes on public health," stated Murray S. Kessler, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lorillard. "Most importantly, TPSAC's report is just the first step in what we believe will be a very long process that ultimately does not result in the removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace, especially when contraband and other unintended consequences are seriously considered."

But the recommendations were hailed by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the American Heart Association, who urged the FDA to implement the committee's recommendations. In a joint statement they said: "The committee’s conclusions leave no doubt that menthol cigarettes have had a profound adverse impact on public health in the United States, resulting in more smoking and more death and disease from tobacco use. It also leaves no doubt that the tobacco industry is directly responsible for the harm caused by menthol cigarettes because of its targeted marketing of children and African-American and other communities, and its manipulation of menthol cigarettes to appeal to specific target markets."