Representatives from three major tobacco companies, speaking before a committee tasked with advising the federal government on tobacco regulation, defended menthol cigarettes against charges that they put smokers’ health at greater risk than regular cigarettes.
“Menthol does not make cigarettes more harmful,” says William R. True, senior vice president of Lorillard, the maker of the best-selling menthol cigarette, Newport. Representatives from R.J. Reynolds and Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, also spoke.
Several public health experts, meanwhile, argued for a total ban of the additive, referring to its role in cigarettes as “sweetening the poison.”
Full story: Debate Sharpens Over Menthol Cigarettes