Blumenthal endorses menthol cigarette ban

Photo by Keelin Daly/Stamford Advocate

From WTNH:

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal wants menthol cigarettes off store shelves.

“The Big Tobacco companies use menthol methodically to market to kids and lure them into lifetimes of addiction and disease,” Blumenthal said.

But while there’s a push to ban menthol cigarettes to improve public health, one store owner in New Haven says that would only hurt their bottom line.

“Menthols, yes they are number one,” an employee at Victor’s Market in New Haven said.

“They are my favorite,” said Noelle Feliciano, who has been smoking them since he was 18.

His habits may change if Blumenthal gets his way. The Senator points to recent findings by the tobacco products Scientific Advisory Committee suggesting the minty flavor of menthols mask the harshness and irritation of smoking which makes it harder to quit and easier for young people to get addicted.

Tom Cleary