UP IN SMOKE

Menthol Cigarette Ban Would be Good, FDA Says

Tobacco stocks soar on less-than-definite finding.

It doesn't take much to pass for good news for the tobacco industry these days. An FDA panel reported that the “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit the public health.” However, it stopped short of recommending a ban. Following the report, shares in menthol-producing firms soared. The panel spent a year studying menthol cigarettes, which make up 30 percent of the U.S. cigarette market, and found that while they don't represent a greater health risk than regular cigarettes, they disproportionately target teenagers and African Americans. Shares of Lorillard, the maker of Newport menthol cigarettes, rose 10.6 percent after the news. Though the findings were in favor of a ban, it didn't recommend one unequivocally.