Ban On Flavored Cigarettes

The FDA banned flavored cigarettes recently. There is still some debate/discussion about whether or not it will apply to Djarums (Clove cigarettes).

John Geoghegan, director of brand development for Moorpark, Calif.-based Kretek International, said the private company has been “puzzled about (the ban) since the very beginning” because clove cigarettes constitute less than 1 percent of cigarettes sold in the U.S.

It doesn’t seem very logical to me that people would start smoking with cloves. Not only are they expensive, they comprise a very small portion of the overall market. It seems more likely that people would start smoking with any of the “light” cigarettes or with menthols (which are not banned). If they really wanted to discourage smoking, the easiest way to do it would be continue raising taxes.