The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is calling for changes to a House tobacco-regulation bill, demanding that the legislation place restrictions on menthol cigarettes.

The 43-member caucus is taking aim at a provision in the bill that would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but that specifically exempts menthol. In recent weeks the exemption has become the focus of controversy because menthol brands are heavily used by black smokers.
Donna M. Christensen, the Congressional delegate from the United States Virgin Islands who heads the black caucus’s health task force, said the caucus was working with Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is House bill’s sponsor, to address concerns about menthol.
Christensen did not disclose the exact wording of any proposed changes to the legislation. But she said the group was working to strengthen the bill’s language on research and reporting about menthol and to give the Food and Drug Administration explicit authority to ban menthol.
Some smoking opponents have said they consider the menthol exemption as a necessary compromise to get the legislation passed. They have said that the bill as currently drafted would give the F.D.A. the authority to limit or eliminate additives, including menthol, if proved to be harmful.
The legislation has passed crucial committees in both the House and the Senate, and supporters are hoping for floor votes this year. Waxman has predicted a House vote after members return from the 4 July recess. With or without a menthol exemption, enactment of the bill is not a certainty.
Menthol brands account for 28 per cent of the USD 70 billion American cigarette market. While only 25 per cent of white smokers choose menthol cigarettes, an estimated 75 per cent of African-American smokers do.