Eighty national public health groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Preventative Medicine, placed a full-page ad in Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post in support of a federal ban on menthol in cigarettes and all flavored cigars.

“The answer is clear,” the full-page ad says. “Saving lives starts by ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.

“Smoking kills nearly half a million people in the United States each year, and these addictive, deadly products are a big part of the problem. The FDA and White House have our full support to release lifesaving rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.”

        • ByteJunk@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Menthol and other flavoured cigarettes were banned in the EU years ago, and I don’t recall much of a fuss, not sure why this would be an issue in the US.

          My experience was that long time smokers weren’t the ones smoking menthol and other weird stuff, it was mostly kids that didn’t like tobacco.

  • Veedem@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I have maybe a cigar a month. Sometimes, a nice dipped cigar is enjoyable. It’d be a shame to just outright ban them.

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      Tobacco is fucking horrible, but Menthol and other flavorings make it so much worse. They increase the likelihood of addiction massively.

      And is always the case in public health, you don’t put in rules to cater to the edge cases, you put in rules to protect the majority affected.

      • Melkath@kbin.social
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        2 years ago

        Tell me you’re not a smoker without telling me you’re not a smoker.

        You clearly have no idea how tobacco addiction works.

        Prohibition doesn’t work. Mind your own fucking business.

        • chaogomu@kbin.social
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          2 years ago

          I can tell that you’re addicted just by the vitriol in your response here.

          Did you start of menthols and other flavored tobacco? Because that’s how a lot of people start. Which is why people are pushing for a ban, so others won’t be as hopelessly addicted as you are.

          • Melkath@kbin.social
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            2 years ago

            Fuck you.

            It’s my choice.

            Mind your own fucking business you fucking asshole.

            Here, childhood obesity is a MUCH larger issue than smoking.

            Go ban all the artificial flavorings that are in all of the different bowls of sugar, ahem, breakfast cereals, that are shamefully aimed at children in an effort to give them diabetes, just leave the aisle full of plain rasin bran.

            Do that and I’ll believe it’s about health and the kids and not simply a power trip controlling another person’s choices.

            A lifetime of doctors visits, insulin vials, insulin pumps, blood sugar meters, etc are bleeding this country FAR more than 80 year olds with lung cancer (that probably wasnt even caused by the tobacco).

            • BenGFHC@kbin.social
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              2 years ago

              In places where healthcare is vaguely civilized, your unhealthy addiction becomes my business because it comes with negative social externalities in the form of additional cost and strain on a public health service.

              Edit: Spelling

  • BabyWah@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    This is hypocrisy. Let people smoke whatever they want. We’re not living in the fifties, everybody and their mother knows nicotine kills.

    What they don’t get is that not everybody has a wonderful life and wants to live forever.

    There are bans in place for kids, and adults should have the right to decide what they want. Ban flavoured alcohol too then.

    • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg
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      2 years ago

      You know, I don’t really care what you smoke, but I care that it’s communal. Somebody drinking wine, beer, a white claw, etc a few feet away doesn’t immediately negatively impact my existence by depriving me of clean air … or cause a friend with breathing issues a panic attack.

      Plenty of adults “decide” to smoke for kids by smoking with the kids around.

      Plenty of adults “decide” to smoke in the entrances of buildings, on busy sidewalks, in an outdoor mall, etc.

      Plenty of adults have “decided” to smoke because it’s “safe” per some anecdote that they heard about a family member that smoked 3 packs a day and lived to be 90.

      It’s actually all pretty freaking infuriating. One of the best things that’s ever been done is banning smoking inside of most buildings.

      At the very least the age should be raised to match alcohol.