Menthol cigarettes are well-liked amongst Black and Latino people who smoke, and a Biden administration official cited civil rights as a purpose the ban is being dropped.
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Mario Tama/Getty Pictures
Menthol cigarettes are well-liked amongst Black and Latino people who smoke, and a Biden administration official cited civil rights as a purpose the ban is being dropped.
Mario Tama/Getty Pictures
The Biden administration indefinitely delayed implementing a long-awaited ban on menthol tobacco merchandise, outraging anti-smoking advocates who say the White Home is prioritizing politics over public well being.
Controversy, particularly inside the Black neighborhood, is one purpose Well being and Human Providers Secretary Xavier Becerra alluded to as rationale for dropping the proposed ban. In a press release, Becerra mentioned the rule elicited “an immense quantity of suggestions, together with from varied components of the civil rights and prison justice motion,” including that resolving the problems “will take significantly extra time.”
The unique ban on menthol cigarettes was proposed over two years in the past, after in depth analysis on the consequences of the minty flavoring.
Many public well being advocacy teams expressed dismay, arguing that the controversy over public well being was resolved a long time in the past.
“This determination prioritizes politics over lives, particularly Black lives,” mentioned Yolanda Richardson, President and CEO of the Marketing campaign for Tobacco-Free Youngsters, in a press release. “It’s particularly disturbing to see the administration parrot the false claims of the tobacco business about assist from the civil rights neighborhood.”
“The administration’s inaction is enabling the tobacco business to proceed aggressively advertising these merchandise and attracting and addicting new customers,” mentioned Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Coronary heart Affiliation, in a press release.
Menthol makes up over a 3rd of the US tobacco gross sales, however is disproportionately marketed in Black communities, in addition to amongst girls and LGBTQ populations. As many as 85% of Black people who smoke smoke menthol cigarettes – a well being danger that additionally explains why lung most cancers charges run highest in that neighborhood. So the difficulty of banning menthol cigarettes – or curbing entry to them – has divided the Black neighborhood.
Some civil rights leaders, most notably Rev. Al Sharpton, have obtained backing from the tobacco business and have argued {that a} ban on menthol cigarettes would result in extra over-policing of Black communities.
