Gone Menthol

This thing (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-09-27-menthol-cigarettes_N.htm) is about the banning of menthol cigarettes by the FDA. I'm not even certain about what a menthol cigarette is, but I think it's a flavored cigarette. I can't read through the insane quotes in that article. The author of the article quoted people who had made all of these bizarre statements about having "gone menthol" or something. "@#%#, yes, I went menthol." I don't think banning things like that is a good idea. I obviously think smoking is really bad, and I'm not a smoker. But I dunno. The last time they tried to ban high-nicotine cigarettes or something like that, smokers just ended up smoking more cigarettes to compensate. How does taxing smokers into bankruptcy accomplish anything? This is not a very interesting topic, but I should say that, in fact, I don't like the FDA. It's a cliched thing to say, but the FDA has become so cautious about making statements that, in my opinion, a mild or conservatively-worded warning from the FDA is likely to be, "not infrequently," a sign that there's a serious or significant problem. But then, when it comes to things like cigarettes, the FDA isn't afraid to make "statements." What exactly does the FDA do these days. I can't figure out what it is. I can't remember the last time they've done anything decent, but that's just my opinion.