WASHINGTON, DC , UNITED STATES, December 21, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In 2023, 40.4% of middle school and high school students who currently smoke cigarettes reported using menthol cigarettes. Pediatricians have long been sounding the alarm on how the tobacco industry uses flavors to hook kids on their products. Young people are uniquely vulnerable to the highly addictive nature of nicotine, which means teenage experimentation can easily turn into lifelong addiction.

Studies also show 85% of Black smokers use menthol. The health of Black communities has also been impacted by decades of aggressive marketing of menthol products, leading to disproportionate generational addiction, suffering and death.

Lack of action by policymakers has delayed final rules to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. These rules are a chance to address the threat of nicotine addiction, reduce cancer deaths and save lives. Failing to act leaves young people and Black communities at risk. The AAP urges the Biden administration to finalize these rules and eliminate these harmful products.

For more information, please visit www.AAP.org/tobacco.

Devin Mazziotti
American Academy of Pediatrics
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