As it turns out, the most lethal kind of cigarettes are those with menthol “flavoring,” and this has resulted in fierce efforts on the part of advocacy groups to force the U.S. federal government to ban the substance.

But guess what?  This is a long, slow progress, that, after close to a decade, appears to be going nowhere.  Big Tobacco has its own set of advocacy groups, i.e., lobbyists, that make it virtually impossible for consumer health groups to force Congress to pass laws that would reduce corporate profits.

There are thousands of people, most of them in Washington, working feverishly to ensure that the corporate giants whose products, when used as intended, cause death, are protected against government intrusion.

Many of them work in the same buildings as the oil lobbyists, whose jobs focus on ensuring that gasoline and diesel fuels remain dominant in human culture, regardless of the environmental collapse they’re causing.

Making Progress in Protecting Human Health Is a “Long Battle”