Lautenberg renews call for ban on flavored cigars

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) reiterated his call for a ban on flavored cigars, which he said are used by the tobacco industry as a way to lure children into smoking.

Lautenberg released a statement calling for a ban on Thursday, the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report that said cigar smoking is popular among high school students. The report said 11.7 percent of black high school students smoked cigars in 2011, up from 7.1 percent in 2009, and that large-cigar use jumped 233 percent from 2000 to 2011.

"Flavored cigars are designed to attract young adults, and the new CDC report indicates Big Tobacco is succeeding in its mission," he said. "The federal government must use its full authority over the tobacco industry and ban flavored cigars before the next generation of tobacco users are hooked.

"The increase in cigar use is troubling, and we must continue to do everything we can to keep our kids healthy and safe."

Lautenberg and other Democrats, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), have previously called for a ban on flavored cigars. In April, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended that the Food and Drug Administration release regulations banning flavored cigars, as part of the 2013 spending bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and related agencies.

The two senators noted then that a 2009 law banned flavored cigarettes, but still allows tobacco companies to market flavored cigars.

"Because the law banned flavored cigarettes, many companies turned to flavored cigars to help attract and retain young customers," Durbin said in April. "Cigars with candy-like flavorings such as strawberry, watermelon, vanilla and chocolate are marketed to young people, and get them hooked on this deadly and addictive habit at a young age."

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