FDA Moves To Ban Menthol Cigarettes And Flavored Cigars

[tulipsandroses]

If you are black, smoke, or know black smokers - Hard to find folks that don't smoke Newports. That's not by mistake.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is moving to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, based on the evidence of the addictiveness and harm of the products. Tobacco companies have long targeted African Americans with advertising for menthol cigarettes.
SNIP
The FDA said that "menthol masks unpleasant flavors and harshness of tobacco products, making them easier to start using. Tobacco products with menthol can also be more addictive and harder to quit by enhancing the effects of nicotine."

SNIP
African American adults have the highest percentage of menthol cigarette use compared with other racial and ethnic groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SNIP
The NAACP welcomed the FDA's announcement.
"For decades, data have shown that the tobacco industry has successfully and intentionally marketed mentholated cigarettes to African Americans and particularly African American women as 'replacement smokers;' that menthol smokers have a harder time quitting smoking; and that tobacco use is a major contributor to heart disease, cancer, and stroke – three leading causes of death among African Americans," NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.

[link:https://www.npr.org/2021/04/29/991973192/fda-moves-to-ban-menthol-cigarettes-and-flavored-cigars|

[jimfields33]

1. This is really concerning

Even the article admits African Americans smoke these. If they are going to ban cigarettes just do them all and be done. Yes I’ll miss them, but to target a group over the rest is terrible.

[tulipsandroses]

6. This is not terrible. Did you read that there was already a ban on flavored cigarettes in 2008?

Isn't it funny that the one flavor, purposely targeted to blacks survived this ban?

[Zeitghost]

8. Big Tobacco

Will sell menthol cigarettes to anyone and everyone. They are popular in the African American community (but also elsewhere) so that's where they tend to be advertised. This notion that blacks need to be saved from this advertising or are somehow more susceptible to it is racist. Tobacco is tobacco, regulate, ban it, whatever, but do it across the board.

[LanternWaste]

12. Yo man, your premise is invalid.

Menthol is merely the last of the flavored cigarettes' to be discontinued.

Stop pretending a specific demographic is being targeted by the consistent application of an already in-place policy.

[jimfields33]

16. Pretending?

[Kingofalldems]

15. Nope.

[JanMichael]

2. Once a Drug Warrior always one? Sure hope the admin doesn't flip on THC issues. nt

[liberaltrucker]

3. I quit Pall Mall menthol 3 years ago

Mint flavored nicotine gum helped a lot but it was still tough.
To this day, I use the gum occasionally.

[LakeArenal]

4. OMG Mr and I were wonder and he was joking when he said:

I guess more black people smoke them.

Wow. I said most women I knew who smoke smoked menthols.

Never been a cigarette smoker. But cigs are more addictive than pot. Cigs and Carbs the banes of good health.

[3Hotdogs]

5. I believe they also banned or thinking of banning flavored vapes.

[gay texan]

7. Certainly not the first time they tried this

Remember "Uptown" cigarettes?

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Uptown_cigarettes


I really wish I could find the Doonesbury comic with the rapping "Mr. Butts"

[tulipsandroses]

19. Yes, thanks for mentioning it

To recapture lost market share, tobacco giant R. J. Reynolds (RJR) developed Uptown, the first cigarette brand created and targeted specifically at a minority group—in this case, African-Americans. RJR planned to launch a six-month test market in Philadelphia in February 1990, which coincided with national Black History Month. The launch generated grassroots opposition from the black community in Philadelphia, which became intent on ensuring there was “No Uptown in our town or any town.” - The Kellogg School

[link:

|

[Silent3]

9. I have very mixed feelings about this

I hate cigarettes, and I'm enormously happy they've been banned from most public places, but it does push my Libertarian-Lite buttons a bit for the government to play nanny state to this extent.

[Withywindle]

10. +1

Prohibition in general sucks as public policy. Banning alcohol didn't work. Banning weed didn't work. Banning menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes won't work either.

Take the tax money, invest it in non-punitive, science-based programs to help addicts quit.

[marie999]

11. Next they will do a study on what alcohol Blacks proportionately drink more of than Whites

so they can ban those. You know them Black folks just can't take good care of themselves. I find that article racist.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Yeah, I'm white, but targeting menthol because more black people

smoke them is nanny state territory. Tobacco is bad PERIOD.

Are they going to remove menthol and other flavors from snuff too? My boss will sure miss his nasty Copenhagen. I won't miss seeing soda bottles full of brown spit on his desk.

[madville]

13. Someone will capitalize off this, bans create opportunity

They will get smuggled in and sold at a premium, ultimately costing the most vulnerable more if their money.

I also imagine some enterprising folks will start selling liquid in gas stations that people can spray on regular cigarettes and let dry that will give them that menthol flavor. It will probably be more unhealthy than regular menthol cigarettes of course.

They already make menthol and flavor sprays to use on tobacco: https://www.leafonly.com/hookah-shisha-tobacco-leaves/tobacco-accessories/tobacco-flavoring-menthol

[tulipsandroses]

17. That is certainly a possibility. I'm sure there will be some kind of black market that rises

I am more concerned about the health disparities within black communities overall. Blacks have paid a heavy price during Covid. Smoking and second hand smoke are not the only reasons. However there was already a high incidence of lung disease and death related to lung illnesses as well as smoking being a contributing factor in other diseases. Like with everything else, blacks pay a higher price.

There are some against banning menthol that have made some of the arguments you proposed. The argument being followed up with that sentiment is that this will lead to more arrests in the black community, more burden for law enforcement. I find it rather interesting that this is the one area that some folks want to protect black people from getting arrested.

There is a long and complicated history between the black community and Tobacco companies. Makes for interesting research if anyone is up for it. Perhaps as this takes center stage, people will be talking about this in a more complex and nuanced manner than the knee jerk reaction of big brother taking away liberties.

[tulipsandroses]

18. Big Tobacco could delay Biden's menthol cigarette ban for years

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

SNIP
In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration banned all flavored cigarettes in the U.S. Gone were the cherry, chocolate, clove, and other flavored options that tend to appeal to younger smokers.
There was, however, one major exception. Menthol cigarettes, the most popular flavoring by far, accounting for around 27% of the entire cigarette market, would remain on shelves. Instead, the bill required an FDA study on the medical and marketing effects of menthol cigarettes and their impact on Black and Hispanic Americans and other groups. About 85% of Black smokers use menthol products, and Black men have the highest rate of lung cancer in the U.S.

At the time, anti-tobacco groups were told that a ban on menthol would kill the bill, and tobacco lobbyists convinced legislators, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, to accept the compromise. “They buy influence when you have the deep pockets the tobacco industry has,” said William Robinson of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, at the time.

SNIP

Thursday marked a court-mandated deadline for the FDA to respond to a 2013 citizen petition advocating for the ban, which would not apply to e-cigarettes.

Still, tobacco companies likely will have some time to prepare for any changes. The ban will need to go through a rulemaking process that could potentially take years. Once the rule is in place, it’s likely to then face a long litigation process as the tobacco industry brings legal challenges.

[link:https://fortune.com/2021/04/29/biden-menthol-cigarette-ban-fda-big-tobacco-litigation-advocacy-naacp-aclu/|

CA, MA already have state bans. It failed in NY. Fear of more Eric Garners was an excuse.

I won't be surprised if republicans seize on this as a way to target black voters. All of a sudden they will be concerned about the rights of black folks.