The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars has the potential to save millions of lives, especially those of Black Americans who have long been targeted with predatory marketing and use these products at disproportionately high rates. As the proposed rules undergo a public comment period, aggressive opposition from the industry – which has fought menthol restrictions at the local and federal level for years – is expected to continue.
Menthol has been repeatedly exempted from legislation on flavored tobacco products, the result of massive tobacco industry lobbying efforts that have included making strategic financial contributions and working to align itself with black leaders and politicians. The tobacco industry has attempted to spread fear that menthol bans unfairly target African Americans and would lead to further criminalization of the community. R.J. Reynolds, the maker of the leading menthol cigarette brand Newport, recruited prominent Black leaders, including civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, to host town halls across the country on the subject. The public health community criticized the town halls as deceptive and exploitative. The tobacco industry also implemented a media blitz of television and social media ads in 2020 to fight a California bill prohibiting the sale of most flavored tobacco products, arguing that it would increase racial profiling by law enforcement, “giving special treatment to...
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Education Association (IEA) is working to pass Senate Bill 2914 this session, a bill that would put an end to a long-time practice of school administrators keeping accus...