Menthol cigarettes are in style 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 Images
Menthol cigarettes are in style 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 Images
The Biden administration indefinitely delayed implementing a long-awaited ban on menthol tobacco merchandise, outraging anti-smoking advocates who say the White House is prioritizing politics over public well being.
Controversy, particularly throughout the Black neighborhood, is one purpose Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra alluded to as rationale for dropping the proposed ban. In a press release, Becerra stated the rule elicited “an immense quantity of suggestions, together with from numerous parts of the civil rights and prison justice motion,” including that resolving the problems “will take significantly extra time.”
The authentic 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 talk over public well being was resolved a long time in the past.
“This determination prioritizes politics over lives, particularly Black lives,” stated Yolanda Richardson, President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a press release. “It is very disturbing to see the administration parrot the false claims of the tobacco business about help 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,” stated Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, 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 threat 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 acquired backing from the tobacco business and have argued {that a} ban on menthol cigarettes would result in extra over-policing of Black communities.