INFORMS Open Forum

BALTIMORE, MD, May 8, 2024 – Because public health experts have determined that menthol-flavored cigarettes pose higher health risks to smokers than non-menthol varieties, policymakers for years have considered banning menthol. Most of the measures taken to date have been at the state level, but new research suggests that this approach has backfired. The better alternative, researchers suggest, is a higher tax on menthol cigarettes, or a national ban at the federal level.

Click here to read the full press release.

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Ashley Smith
Public Relations Specialist
INFORMS
Baltimore MD
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Interesting results from the study on an individual state banning methanol. A single state acting alone is suboptimal.

Implications for abortion policy/laws? The objective function would need to be multi-criteria, for instance, reduce total #abortions, increase average health of the mothers, and reduce expenses and time consumed by those who abort. If a national policy could achieve all those things, might enough politicians agree on it?

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John Milne
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY
jmilne@clarkson.edu
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Interest ng research regarding Menthol cigarettes. Federal level actions is. abetter idea, in that case it will be useful to have the politicians aboard. That can make this an optimal action.
But there can be some complaints from some states, that this action is being enforced upon them. 

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Jayant Singh
Analyst
San Leandro CA
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