Study: Large Black Market Would Quickly Emerge If Menthol Cigarettes Banned

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Final Report on Contraband Presented to FDA Panel Today

GREENSBORO, N.C., Jan. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Under any reasonable assumptions, banning menthol cigarettes would create a substantial black market in the United States, substantially mitigating any decline in cigarette smoking and inspiring a "significant increase in organized crime activity," and potentially increasing youth access to cigarettes, according to an independent economic analysis submitted today to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee.

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Study: Large Black Market Would Quickly Emerge If Menthol Cigarettes Banned

"Following a ban, a sizable black market would likely quickly emerge to satisfy the demand for menthol cigarettes," the report by Compass Lexecon, a Chicago-based economic consulting firm, concluded. Findings from the study, commissioned by Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO...

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