Star Scientific Falls As Menthol Cigarettes Come Under FDA Scanner - Hot Stocks

Source from:  RTTNews 04/09/2010

Shares of low-carcinogen cigarette maker Star Scientific, Inc. fell more than 10% in Wednesday's trading session as rumors of a possible ban or regulation on menthol cigarettes began to spread as the popular but controversial flavoring is being scrutinized by the FDA. Star Scientific shares, which closed Tuesday's regular trading at $2.95, touched a low of $2.54 on Tuesday's regular trade. Stock volume increased to 20.15 million, compared to the average volume of 5.10 million. An FDA panel began a year-long scrutiny of menthol cigarettes late March and has already heard evidence on the effects of the mint flavored products on smokers' health. Around one in every four cigarettes sold currently is menthol flavored. A recent survey by the U.S. Government showed that around 83% of adult black smokers prefer menthol, compared to 23% of white smokers. Menthol flavor is being opposed by anti-smoking activists, who say that its anesthetic properties reduce the harshness of tobacco, making it easier for children to start smoking as well as make it difficult for smokers to quit. Star Scientific has an application pending before the FDA since February 2010 for marketing its dissolvable tobacco lozenge Ariva-BDL as a modified-risk tobacco product under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Ariva-BDL comes with wintergreen flavoring and is made with flue-cured tobacco. CIGX is currently losing $0.35 or 11.86%, and is trading at $2.60 on a volume of 20.15 million shares on Nasdaq. In the past 52 weeks, the stock traded within a range of $2.52 to $3.69, with an average volume of 5.10 million shares. Enditem