The US Food and Drug Administration proposed banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars on Thursday (April 28). The step intends to reduce smoking in the US population and also reduce “tobacco-related health disparities.”
Menthol cigarettes are smoked at a higher rate among African Americans than among White Americans. A US government survey states that approximately 85% of African Americans smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to only 29% of White smokers, according to the New York Times.
Many people have applauded the move. Thereby, believing it will help lessen the burden of tobacco-related illnesses, particularly among the Black population. However, it has drawn criticism from some places for the possibility of pushing more Black smokers towards “criminalization”.
The proposal is still in the early stages of implementation; it must first go through rounds of public comment and objections before it passes. It will almost certainly face legal challenges from tobacco firms.
So, let us explain why the FDA has zeroed in on menthol cigarettes; why these cigarettes are more popular among African Americans, and the debate around the proposal.
What does the FDA’s proposal entail?
Menthol cigarettes have already been banned in some areas in the United States. But the FDA intends to make the ban nationwide.
The FDA is seeking public feedback on “proposed product standards to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and prohibit all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars”. It is from May 5 to July 5.
“The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Additionally, the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities.”
Electronic cigarettes are not a part of the planned prohibition.
If the ban comes into effect, who will receive the penalty?
The FDA has made it clear that it “cannot and will not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars”. The rules will only “address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers who manufacture, distribute, or sell such products.”
Why is it that the FDA considers menthol cigarettes to be extremely damaging?
The agency says menthol, with its minty taste and aroma, “reduces the irritation and harshness of smoking. This increases the appeal and makes menthol cigarettes easier to use, particularly for youth and young adults. Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance nicotine’s addictive effects, while making it more difficult for people to quit smoking.”
The agency says, if menthol cigarettes face a ban, then “modeling studies have estimated a 15% reduction in smoking within 40 years.”
Because of the high prevalence of use of these cigarettes, the proposed prohibition will affect a substantial percentage of smokers.
The FDA says that in 2019, “there were more than 18.5 million current menthol cigarette smokers aged 12 and older in the US.”
Apart from menthol, all other cigarette flavors were outlawed in the United States in 2009.
How did menthol cigarettes become more popular among Black smokers?
Tobacco firms employed “predatory” and “targeted” advertising to lure Black consumers to menthol cigarettes. They are harder to stop and more dangerous to health, according to numerous advocacy groups.
The US public health agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says, “Historically, the marketing and promotion of menthol cigarettes have been targeted heavily toward African Americans through culturally tailored advertising images and messages… the tobacco industry’s attempts to maintain a positive image among African Americans have included such efforts as supporting cultural events and making contributions to minority higher education institutions, elected officials, civic and community organizations, and scholarship programs.
Tobacco companies have historically placed larger amounts of advertising in African American publications, exposing African Americans to more cigarette ads than Whites.”
The efforts have extended beyond advertising to include marketing techniques too. Again according to CDC, tobacco firms use “price promotions such as discounts and multi-pack coupons—which are most often used by African Americans and other minority groups, women, and young people—to increase sales”, in areas with “large racial/ethnic minority populations tend to have more tobacco retailers”; while “menthol products are given more shelf space in retail outlets within African American and other minority neighborhoods.”
“Victory for Black America”
Smoking also hits the community harder than their White counterparts. The CDC says that although “African Americans usually smoke fewer cigarettes and start smoking cigarettes at an older age, they are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than Whites.”
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hailed the proposed ban as a “victory for Black America”.
“These products have killed our children, our parents, our brothers, sisters, and livelihoods. After fighting against deadly menthol products for decades, today is a victory for Black America,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson to The New York Times.
Criticism of the proposed ban
Tobacco companies have argued that menthol cigarettes are no more hazardous than ordinary cigarettes, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Others have argued that the ban will cost the government a large amount of money. Some have claimed that it will harm African Americans more than benefit them.
“Harm reduction, not prohibition, is the better path forward”. “Taking these products out of the legal marketplace will push them into unregulated, criminal markets that don’t follow any regulations and ignore minimum age laws,” Altria warned in a statement. Altria is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world.
Think Tank Tax Foundation says if the ban passes, the federal and state governments will “stand to lose more than $6.6 billion in the first full year following prohibition.”
Some campaigners have expressed fears that the prohibition may lead to the “criminalization” of Black smokers. “There are serious concerns that the ban implemented by the Biden administration will eventually foster an underground market that is sure to trigger criminal penalties which will disproportionately impact people of color and prioritize criminalization over public health and harm reduction,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
Laws governing menthol cigarettes around the world
Brazil was the first country in the world to outlaw menthol cigarettes in 2012. In 2017, Canada made these cigarettes illegal, and the European Union followed suit in May 2020. Turkey, Moldova, and Ethiopia have all banned menthol cigarettes. Although the UK had left the EU at the time, it too adopted the prohibition.