Lorillard Urges Objective Menthol Analysis

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Lorillard Tobacco Co. issued a statement regarding the second public meeting of the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) on menthol additives in cigarettes, which will be held July 15 and July 16 in Gaithersburg, Md.

Lorillard, along with other tobacco manufacturers, were asked to share their expertise and research on issues regarding menthol cigarettes following the first meeting, and the company submitted “extensive comments containing scientific and technical information in response to this request for the TPSAC's consideration,” said Dr. William R. True, senior vice president, research and development at the company.

Lorillard and the other tobacco companies will present summaries of the information at the meetings this week, said True. "An objective analysis of the science surrounding menthol shows that menthol does not increase the health risks of cigarette smoking and that menthol cigarettes do not play a unique role in starting smoking, stopping smoking or in smoking dependence,” True said. “If the committee makes a recommendation that is truly based on a thorough review of all available science, then they must conclude that there is no public health rationale to support treating menthol and non-menthol cigarettes differently."