Cigarette Bill clears the U.S. House.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved by a veto-proof 326-102 vote legislation (HR 1108) that would give FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, The New York Times reports. The measure, introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and approved on Wednesday, would allow the FDA to ban flavored additives, with an exemption for menthol flavoring, The Wall Street Journal, reported Friday. Some Black anti-smoking advocates criticized the exemption, noting that as many as three-quarters of Black smokers use mentholated cigarettes. The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network withdrew its support for the bill because of the menthol exemption. Menthol brands account for about 28 percent of the $70 billion U.S. cigarette market. Scientists believe menthol and other additives might mask the harshness of tobacco, which could make it easier for teenagers to begin smoking. Researchers also have questioned whether menthol plays a role in disproportionate rates of cancer related to smoking among Blacks. A recent study from Harvard University found that some cigarette makers intentionally “manipulated menthol levels to attract young people.”

The UNCF praises Congress. The United Negro College Fund on Friday praised Congress for working across party lines to reauthorize the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which it said will enable more African Americans to get a higher education at a time when a degree is more important than ever for getting a leg up in society. “This reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the first in ten years, could not have come at a more critical time,” UNCF officials said in a statement. ”Getting a college education is more important than ever.  This legislation will enable more students to attend college, graduate and launch their careers, and will thus take the country an important step closer to realizing the ideal expressed in UNCF’s motto, ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste.’”  Currently, there are about 8,000 students who attend 900 colleges and universities with UNCF scholarships, and 39 historically Black colleges and universities comprise UNCF and their 55,000 students. Where does higher education rank among the nation’s priorities? Why?

Alicia Keys won’t perform with firm’s support.

A singer set to perform in Jakarta, Indonesia has responded to requests that she not appear in concert with a cigarette company as her sponsor. Alicia Keys rejected the promo support of Philip Morris International after receiving letters from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “We respect those who are concerned and disagree,” says Niken Rachmad, a spokeswoman for Indonesia’s second-biggest cigarette maker, a unit of Philip Morris. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids wrote in its letter to Keys: “Approximately 35 percent of the population smokes, and an estimated 200,000 deaths per year in Indonesia are caused by tobacco-related illness.”

Lil Wayne to perform at VMAs.

One of the game’s hottest MCs has been added to MTV’s annual awards ceremony lineup. Lil Wayne joins the Jonas Brothers and other talents that are set to take the Video Music Awards stage next month. Riding the soaring sales trend of his current CD, Weezy is among the show’s headliners. The VMAs will air Sept. 7.

Cigarette legislation clears the house.

Legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate cigarettes and other forms of tobacco cleared the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. The White House issued a statement voicing “serious concerns” about the bill and said advisers would recommend a presidential veto. Backers, including public health groups and many Democrats, said the measure would help curtail youth smoking, prevent heart disease and reduce rising health-care costs. “With this legislation, we will place sharp and sorely needed limits on access to tobacco products and on tobacco advertising and marketing,” said Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The White House, however, said the legislation would “put an enormous burden on the FDA” that could detract from other public health responsibilities. Requiring the FDA to oversee tobacco products also “could be perceived by the public as an endorsement that these products are safe, resulting in more people smoking,” the White House said. The bill, which cleared the House in a 326-102 vote, would authorize the FDA to police cigarette labeling and recall tobacco products seen as unreasonably harmful. The FDA also would have to approve all new cigarettes and other tobacco products, and set standards for so-called reduced-risk products. The agency would not be empowered to ban cigarettes or require nicotine levels of zero.

Black lawmakers split on cigarette bill

There’s a riff within the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus over the bill that would allow the FDA to regulate tobacco products, reports The New York Times. Some members of the caucus would like to place some restrictions on menthol while others say leave the bill alone. Seventy-five percent of Black smokers use mentholated tobacco products, which account for about 28 percent of the $70 billion U.S. cigarette market, the Times reports. Currently, the bill, which enjoys broad bi-partisan support, does not regulate menthol, but it does place restrictions on flavor additives such as clover. It is thought that menthol and other additives might mask the harshness of tobacco, which could “make it easier for teenagers to begin smoking,” a recent study report. Researchers also have questioned whether menthol might play a role in disproportionate rates of cancer related to smoking among Blacks. A recent study from Harvard University found that some cigarette makers intentionally “manipulated menthol levels to attract young people.” The caucus is “split,” Caucus Chair Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) told the Times. “We do want to see menthol regulated, but we’re convinced that eliminating or prohibiting menthol would be a killer for the bill.” According to Kilpatrick, the caucus is drafting an amendment to the bill that would potentially call for a study on menthol.Doctors are in the dark about sexual behavior.Don’t-ask, don’t-tell is a losing proposition when it comes to sexual behavior. But that seems to be the standard operating procedure, according to a new study. And it’s a losing strategy for slowing the spread of HIV. When health care providers know about their patients’ sexual behavior, they can help prevent infection through testing, counseling and other services. A new study from the New York Health Department suggests 39 percent of men who have sex with other men had not disclosed their sexual orientation to their doctors – a lapse that greatly reduced their odds of being tested for HIV. African-American, Hispanic, and Asian men who had sex with men were far less likely to disclose their sexual activities. The study, published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine, examined data from the 2004-2005 Centers for Disease Control National HIV Behavioral Survey, which examines risky behavior among men across the nation who have sex with other men. For the survey, men at gay bars and clubs were interviewed anonymously, tested for HIV, and offered medical and social services as needed. The study showed that men who disclose having sex with men were twice as likely as those who did not to have been tested for HIV (63 percent vs. 36 percent). The low rate of HIV testing among non-disclosers suggests that health care providers continue to practice risk-based HIV testing in New York City . This means that unless providers know that a patient has a risk factor for HIV, they are not offering the test. The current national guidelines, adopted in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, call on health care providers to offer HIV tests to all patients between the ages of 13 and 64.

Black lawmakers want menthol cigarette restrictions
The Congressional Black Caucus is calling for changes in the House tobacco-regulation bill. The lawmakers are demanding that the legislation place restrictions on menthol cigarettes, the type of cigarettes African-American smokers prefer, reports The New York Times. The 43-member caucus is targeting a provision in the bill that would ban candy-, fruit- and spice-flavored cigarettes but specifically does not touch menthol. Over the past few weeks former Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Louis Sullivan and Black anti-smoking groups have spoken out about the provision. Rep. 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 Rep. Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is House bill’s sponsor, to address concerns about menthol. “We are very aware and gravely concerned about the disproportionate incidence of lung cancer in the African-American community and, along with so many minority health experts, have long been concerned about the role menthol may play,” Christensen said in an e-mail to a Times reporter. The representative did not say exactly how the proposed changes would be worded, but did say the proposed changes would be based on research and reporting about menthol and to give the Food and Drug Administration explicit authority to ban menthol. Some lawmakers had indicated that a menthol cigarette provision might be a deal breaker. Cigarette companies have been working to keep menthol cigarettes out of the bill, which would place cigarettes regulation under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials have raised concerns about the possibility that menthol cigarettes might increase tobacco addiction and possibly cancer rates among Black smokers.