The public will no longer have the opportunity to smoke Camel Crush Bold cigarettes. Nor will people get to puff on Pall Mall Deep Set Recessed Filter, Pall Mall Deep Set Recessed Filter Menthol and Vantage Tech 13 cigarettes.

Using its recently expanded authority over tobacco products, the Food and Drug Administration has put the kibosh on the four new offerings from R.J. Reynolds and has ordered retailers to remove them from store shelves within 30 days.

Sweeteners and flavors

FDA's Ann Simoneau said the four products are considered “misbranded and adulterated.” At issue in the Camel Crush cigarettes: a small capsule of menthol that didn’t lower the product’s risk or change consumers’ perceptions of the brand. The FDA said R.J. Reynolds failed to disclose information about additives like sweeteners and flavors in the other three products.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, applauded the FDA’s action, which he said would set a precedent that would likely affect other brands.

Designed to appeal to children

"The FDA's action is a critical step in preventing the introduction of tobacco products that may be more appealing to youth, more addictive or more harmful,” said Myers. "Tobacco manufacturers have a long history of continually modifying their products to make them more attractive and more addictive and introducing new brands and styles designed to appeal to specific segments of the market, including children. These tactics have been spectacularly successful in attracting new smokers, most of whom are children, and in discouraging current smokers from quitting."

The FDA does not have the power to ban products outright, but it can order companies to stop selling products.

If the four products remain on the shelves past the deadline, the FDA says it can seize them.

Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable disease and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).