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FDA Seeks Ban On Menthol Cigarettes To Fight Teen Smoking (npr.org)
The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it will seek a ban on the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes. From a report: The announcement came as the agency officially released a detailed plan to also restrict the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes. It also wants to ban flavored cigars. In a statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the moves are aimed at fighting smoking among young people. Flavored e-cigarettes, menthol-flavored tobacco cigarettes and flavored cigars are all popular among teenagers. "Today, I'm pursuing actions aimed at addressing the disturbing trend of youth nicotine use and continuing to advance the historic declines we've achieved in recent years in the rates of combustible cigarette use among kids," Gottlieb says.
While cigarette smoking has hit a record low in the United States, vaping has been skyrocketing. That trend has raised concerns that a new generation of young people will become addicted to nicotine. Gottlieb says the moves were prompted by new data showing a 78 percent increase in e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students, from 2017 to 2018. "These data shock my conscience," Gottlieb says.
While cigarette smoking has hit a record low in the United States, vaping has been skyrocketing. That trend has raised concerns that a new generation of young people will become addicted to nicotine. Gottlieb says the moves were prompted by new data showing a 78 percent increase in e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students, from 2017 to 2018. "These data shock my conscience," Gottlieb says.
Yep, being hard to make is why you don't find any street drugs anymore. They all went buh-bye with prohibition. Coke, meth, e, etc, all eradicated with your simple plan. We don't have gangs shooting each other over territory at all.
So, a man should not be allowed a steak just because a baby can't chew it?
Since you obviously don't know your history, allow me to enlighten you: prohibition *always* creates black markets, which funnel huge amounts of money and power into the hands of criminals, who use it to do terrible things. Further, it pushes tax dollars to enforcement of the ban, which is futile and robs us of the better uses on which those tax dollars could be spent.
Also, it is morally wrong. Freedom is an inalienable right. This includes the freedom to choose quality over quantity of life, and do things like smoke.
If teens are getting this illegally, the right answer is NOT to take it away from adults, who absolutely should have legal access to it. If the problem is extreme, then require that shops that sell tobacco disallow teens on the premises (even when accompanied by an adult). And STOP THERE. A certain degree of abuse is a price of freedom and it is a price worth paying!.