Richard Burr: “I also mourn Herb's loss. It is odd that I would be here to protect his ability to have that cigarette in his mouth as…”

“I also mourn Herb's loss. It is odd that I would be here to protect his ability to have that cigarette in his mouth as he was negotiating. I rise today to discuss the recent announcement by the Food and Drug Administration to move forward with a ban on menthol cigarettes. This announcement, to say the least, is surprising. In an administration claiming to decrease regulation on the American people, this announcement works completely counter to that goal--increasing regulation and decreasing the choices for adult consumers in America. Making matters worse, the announcement comes from an Agency that the American people trust. They trust them to make decisions based upon the most sound and reliable science available. Unfortunately, the FDA has not provided a sound scientific argument to move forward with the ban on one type of product that Americans consume understanding fully the risk. On November 30, 2018, I raised this concern with the Food and Drug Administration. As a part of their announcement, the FDA claimed that their regulatory actions are based on information released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. When I asked for the data supporting this menthol decision, I was informed that this data would be made available later this year.…”