Legacy Launches Online Counter View to Respond to Tobacco Industry Claims on Menthol Cigarettes

Consider Your Source (www.legacyforhealth.org/consideryoursource) Offers Balanced Perspective on Menthol Cigarette Manufacturer Lorillard's "Facts" on Menthol Cigarettes, Urges FDA Ban

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Legacy launched an online rebuttal aimed at providing accurate information to counter the Understanding Menthol website created by tobacco manufacturer Lorillard as the FDA reviews and considers how to treat menthol-flavored cigarettes. While the tobacco industry claims that menthol-flavored cigarettes are no worse than other cigarettes, Consider Your Source confirms:

• All cigarettes are deadly, whether they are flavored or not.
• Menthol cigarettes are disproportionally smoked by African-Americans and members of other racial/ethnic communities, contributing to the widespread occurrence of tobacco-related illness.
• A starter tobacco product for youth, menthol cigarettes are less harsh to smoke and are particularly attractive to new and young smokers.

In addition to countering the myths presented by the tobacco industry, Consider Your Source also gives a call to action urging consumers, tobacco commodities analysts, journalists and others to know the facts on menthol cigarettes. Supported by Legacy, Consider Your Source has also focused on Philip Morris' ineffective attempt at youth prevention and cessation advertising campaigns.

"Consumer information on lethal products should not come from a company who stands to lose billions of dollars annually if a ban on menthol cigarettes came to fruition," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy. "Tobacco use causes early death in nearly half of all lifelong users – Legacy supports a ban on all flavored cigarettes from the marketplace. We hope that this installment of Consider Your Source sheds light on the true dangers of menthol-flavored cigarettes and offers consumers and decision-makers alike, an accurate resource on menthol-flavored cigarettes."

Legacy(SM) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org.

SOURCE Legacy