Brazil to Ban Flavored Cigarettes, Including Menthol

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 03/19/2012

Brazil is to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, across the country, according to a GlobalPost story. The Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa - National Health Surveillance Agency) announced the ban on Tuesday, saying the additives used exclusively in these products were what lured many young people to start consuming tobacco. Tobacco manufacturers will have 18 months from when Anvisa's decision is officially published to pull their flavored cigarettes from the national market, and 24 months to pull other flavored tobacco products from shelves. Manufacturers will still be allowed to add sugar to Brazilian-made tobacco products and those imported into the country. And they will be allowed to manufacture flavored tobacco products in Brazil for export. Tobacco industry representatives were said to have been in favor of prohibiting additives that created flavored cigarettes, but that they had wanted to continue to be able to sell menthol products. The industry said there was no scientific proof that menthol made cigarettes more palatable or addictive than did non-menthol cigarettes. For those on the East Coast there is Big Smoke New York, which will take place on November 29 at Pier 92, the premier events center located on the Hudson River. Enditem