FDA Panel Finds Menthol Cigarettes Don’t Increase Risk of Disease

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee’s draft report finds that menthol cigarettes may not boost the chance of disease more than other cigarettes, the Dow Jones News Service reports. Released late Monday, the report found not enough evidence that menthol intensifies smoke inhalation or exposure to nicotine. The report also showed that menthol did not increase the risk of disease. Analysts reported that the study had no surprises, given what panelists had said before during public hearings. Today, the advisory committee will discuss any public health risks of menthol products and will formulate a final report for the agency by March 23. The FDA is not obligated to follow the panel’s recommendations. Lorillard Inc. shares soared 4.2 percent to reach $80 in premarket trading after news of the draft report. Lorillard produces the majority of menthol cigarette brands on the marketplace. Currently, menthol cigarettes account for close to a third of all cigarette sales volume. “While the headlines read quite positively thus far pertaining to the release of these chapters, we believe this is quite one-sided,” said analysts from Stifel Nicolaus. “We cannot call these chapters a net positive for U.S. tobacco stocks.” Last week, Lorillard Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. requested a federal court to prohibit the FDA from using advisory panel reports to craft rules on menthol cigarettes, among other concerns.