The Food and Drug Administration is proposing to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. CNET:
The US Food and Drug Administration published proposed rules banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars on Thursday. The ban would affect a third of cigarettes sold in the US each year, though stop short of banning menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, according to the Wall Street Journal, which earlier reported the news.
Yes, it's significantly because black consumers (and young people) like them and, as a result, tend to suffer the health consequences more.
In a statement last year, the FDA said that 18.6 million people in America smoke menthol cigarettes. There's a racial divide within that group. Of Black smokers, 85% smoke menthol cigarettes. Of white smokers, 30% do, according to the FDA. "Additionally, the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities," said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday.
If you're going to ban something inarguably bad for public and personal health, banning the flavor of it favored by black people without banning what white people like seems patronizing and hypocritical, to say the least. The ACLU points out this will just be yet another thing black people are going to end up frisked for.
Here's a thought about the Dems that you can take to the bank, because no-one in this godforsaken country will be taking it to the polls: "at least they banned Swisher Sweets."
