Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Flavored Cigarettes Outlawed by Government
Every day 3,600 children and teenagers start smoking cigarettes, and of those, 1,100 become daily smokers, according to The New York Times. Tobacco companies were producing cigarettes flavored with chocolate, vanilla, clove, and other flavorings, and the Food and Drug Administration FDA banned all of these flavorings because of the potential to entice children to smoke, said the article. To discourage children from starting to smoke, the Food and Drug Administration recently banned flavored cigarettes.
Popular with youth
The FDA reports that a study done in 2004, found that 17-year-old smokers were three times as likely as those over 25 to smoke flavored cigarettes and they also viewed flavored cigarettes as safer, said the article. These flavors included names like Twista Lime, Kauai Kolada, and Warm Winter Toffee, made by R.J. Reynolds. A poll conducted in March 2008 found that one in five children between 12-17 years have seen the flavored tobacco products or ads, while only one in 10 adults reported having seen them.
These flavored tobacco products are becoming increasingly more common and can lead to a lifetime addiction. They also have serious health risks and are not considered safe.
The FDA said tobacco companies are clearly designing flavored cigarettes to target youth, quoting one company's concepts for a "youth cigarette" that had cola and apple flavors.
The reality of smoking
Although 60% of children polled said they thought the cigarettes tasted better and were safer, they are as addictive and have the same health risks as other tobacco products. They quoted that 443,000 Americans die prematurely each year because of smoking and exposure to second hand smoke. Tobacco use causes more deaths each year than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders COMBINED.
The FDA wants children to know that cigarette smoking causes many types of cancer, as well as heart disease, and chronic lung diseases like emphysema, and that smokeless tobacco products cause gum disease and mouth cancer.
The new law banning flavored cigarettes went into effect as of September 22, 2009. The FDA said they are currently examining options for regulating menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.
Kiley Law Group located in Boston and Andover, Massachusetts takes time when speaking with you about your case and works with you on a contingent basis so there are NO FEES unless our trained Massachusetts child injury lawyers wins your case. Call now for a FREE evaluation of your case – 1-888-208-1695.
