When the Biden administration quietly let its deadline to approve a ban on menthol cigarettes pass earlier this year, advocates condemned the lack of action, urging public health officials to move forward on a decision that could save up to 654,000 lives over the next 40 years. But on Friday, the administration officially delayed the […]
menthol ban
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy
This Lawsuit May Decide the Fate of Menthol Cigarettes
Years of progress toward a federal ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco has been an intense game of legal maneuvering and White House delays — and two Black-led organizations are among the latest plaintiffs hoping their lawsuit forces the Biden administration’s hand. “We know that everyday it’s delayed, there are more Black children getting […]
Posted inHealth
Pressure to Ban Menthol Cigarettes Intensifies for the Biden Administration
The outrage over the Biden administration’s attempt to quietly delay the highly anticipated ban on the menthol cigarettes has transformed into intense pressure on the White House to take action. For years, throughout multiple administrations, the potential of a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco has loomed. As evidence has mounted outlining the public […]
Posted inHealth
‘They Were Just Exploiting Us’: The Void Big Tobacco Left in These Black Families
As the massive garage door lifted to reveal the inside of the small warehouse where Minou Jones’ mother worked, the bulk packs of menthol cigarettes began to glisten. Here, where the gold containers were stacked sky-high in downtown Detroit, was the heart of Big Tobacco’s money making operation. They’d market menthols, which were scientifically concocted […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Menthol Cigarette Ban Receives Pushback from Some Racial Justice Advocates
This story has been updated. The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday rules for a proposed nationwide ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes, a move that has significant implications for Black communities, which disproportionately smoke menthol products. Public health experts lauded the FDA’s announcement, saying it will significantly reduce tobacco-related health diseases and death. […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
A Nationwide Ban on Menthol Cigarettes Could Be Coming, and It’s Dividing Racial Justice Advocates
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to introduce a nationwide ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars this spring, a move intended to reduce racial health disparities in tobacco-related diseases and death. But the proposal has divided racial justice advocates who debate whether the health benefits would come at the […]