A pending ban on menthol cigarettes could add to President Joe Biden's woes as the midterm elections come into view.
On top of a struggling economy, immigration issues, and inflation, the Biden administration could hurt Democratic hopefuls with its ban on menthol cigarettes, according to a new poll of voters in three swing states....
The Food and Drug Administration announced on April 29, 2021, that it was working toward banning menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars "within the next year." Officials are now finalizing the plan to ban menthols, which were exempted from a ban on flavored cigarettes enacted in 2009.
The FDA says the ban could save hundreds of thousands of lives and will "address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals." An estimated 85% of black smokers use menthol cigarettes.
Black leaders have come out both for and against the ban. The NAACP wrote a letter to Biden administration officials outlining its support for the ban, while Al Sharpton's National Action Network issued its own letter making the opposite case.
"This would expose consumers to dangerous contraband cigarettes, increase youth access to cigarettes and promote criminal activity," reads Sharpton's letter. "Further, a menthol ban would exacerbate existing, simmering issues around racial profiling, discrimination, and policing."
Critics point out that Sharpton's group has accepted money from Reynolds American, maker of Newport cigarettes. But his concerns are shared by Richard Marianos, a Georgetown University professor and former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officer.
Anyone who still smokes with all the information and general disgusting nature of it likely will not be saved. Flavoring cigarettes is like flavoring cow droppings to make them tastier.
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