Jeff Tobacco Nc

FDA to independently review menthol cigarettes

The federal agency said Monday members of its Center for Tobacco Products will gather menthol studies and then submit its review to an external peer review panel next month. The process is expected to be completed in the fall of 2011. The results of the review will be available for public comment.

FDA spokesman Jeff Ventura said the review is meant to ensure that the "best available science is used to support regulatory and programmatic decision making."

The review comes after the FDA in March received a report from the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee on the minty smokes. Panels like the tobacco committee advise the FDA on scientific issues. The agency doesn't have to follow its recommendations, but often does.

The report, which was mandated under the 2009 law giving the agency the authority to regulate tobacco, said removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit public health because the flavoring has led to an increase in smokers_ particularly among teens, African Americans, and those with low incomes. It also said that they make it harder for them to quit. The report, however, said menthol smokers are not likely to be at a higher risk of disease or exposed to a greater number of toxins.

The report concluded that more research is needed and the federal agency should develop a program to monitor marketing of menthol cigarettes. It also suggested that should the FDA choose to recommend a ban or other restrictions, the agency should study the potential for contraband menthol cigarettes, a concern raised by the tobacco industry and other trade groups.

A menthol ban or other restrictions on the flavored cigarettes would fall heavily on Lorillard Inc., whose Newport brand is the top-selling menthol cigarette in the U.S., with roughly 35% of the market. Lorillard, the country's third-largest tobacco company, is based in Greensboro, N.C.

"We continue to strongly believe that an objective, thorough and rigorous scientific review will lead the agency to conclude that menthol cigarettes do not present any more harm than non-menthol cigarettes," Gregg Perry, a spokesman for Lorillard, said in a statement on Monday.

In a statement, Richmond-based Altria Group Inc., parent company of the nation's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA , said the review of menthol in cigarettes should be "science-and evidence-based.

TarHeelIllustrated.com - Tobacco Road Midsummer Magic - North Carolina

With Tobacco Road legends Dean Smith , Mike Krzyzewski and Kay Yow all being honored for their integral contributions to college basketball, it was hard not to be swallowed by the wave of appreciation that began in the back row of the theater and curled all the way to center stage.

For one woman in the balcony of the Progress Energy Center's Memorial Auditorium, silence was not an option, her howls from above giving the ceremony a church-like feel.

When emcee Bob Holiday heralded Yow's valiant 21-year fight against cancer and the inspiration her resolve gave to all those around her, the woman in the balcony shouted with approval.
"Yeaaaaaah!"

When former Duke standout Steve Wojciechowski raved about Krzyzewski's energizing leadership skills, the woman exalted again.

"That's right!"

And when Roy Williams , fighting a crack in his voice, spoke about the love he had for Smith and the life lessons he learned from his mentor, the woman in the balcony punctuated it all.

"Hallelujah!" she yelled.

You see, very often, college basketball is truly religion on Tobacco Road, the arenas at North Carolina, Duke and N.C. State providing magnificent houses of worship with unifying powers.

In that regard, Wednesday night's mass in Raleigh provided a blast of perspective, reminding everyone in attendance how lucky and how absolutely spoiled they've been to have had so many of the game's icons practicing and preaching right here before them.

Between them, Smith, Krzyzewski and Yow have 2,515 career coaching victories.

All three legends also presided over national teams that captured gold medals at the Olympics.

But beyond all the success and the triumph, the three coaches' legacies will all be defined by the manner in which they've inspired their players and assistant coaches.


HELPING HANDS


N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow , who played for her older sister at Elon in the 1970s, relayed her own personal tribute to Kay on Wednesday.

It came attached to a story from an Elon-Wake women's game from decades ago, a game in which Debbie delivered one of the highlight reel moments of her career, a defensive play that needed revisiting with Yow recreating her sprint to the defensive end to thwart a free throw line jumper by a Demon Deacon player.

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Tobacco Road, Duke, Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, and the history of the most intense backyard rivalries in sports

Thomas Lanier Clingman, fire eater from the Carolina mountains

Tobacco science

Dictionary of North Carolina biography