The recent discussions around the ban on menthol cigarettes have sparked public interest and concern. This controversy has left many wondering about the rationale behind such a decision and its potential implications. To fully comprehend this contentious issue, it is imperative to delve into the underlying factors that have led to the consideration of banning menthol cigarettes.
Health Disparities
Menthol is attractive to smokers because it masks the taste of tobacco. It also makes the smoke less irritating to the throat, making it easier to inhale. In addition, it activates the cold receptor TRPM8, which is responsible for a feeling of coldness. The industry knows this and uses it to target minority groups, a practice that has contributed to widening the health disparities between White and Black communities.
When states ban menthol cigarettes, the industry moves to replace them with flavored cigars and e-cigarettes that are exempt from the legislation. This could mean that a lot of smokers will have to make a big transition to continue their habit.
Research shows that removing menthol cigarettes can lead to a large number of people quitting smoking, especially among Black smokers. A study published in the journal Tobacco Control found that almost one million smokers would quit within 17 months of ending menthol cigarette sales.
This could save hundreds of thousands of lives. The public health groups are working to pursue the ban on menthol cigarettes and want to see the ban implemented by the end of this year. However, the decision may be delayed to 2024. Public health groups argue they should be given more time to gather data before deciding.
The Tobacco Industry
For decades, the tobacco industry marketed menthol cigarettes specifically to Black consumers. The industry targeted Black communities with magazine ads, billboards, sponsorship of music events, and giveaways like a free ringtone that featured Dizzy Gillespie next to Kools.
This targeted marketing was successful, and menthol cigarettes are now more popular among Black smokers than White ones. Black smokers are more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes and die at higher rates from smoking-related illnesses, including lung cancer and heart disease.
As a result, menthol cigarettes contribute significantly to the Black lung cancer disparity and health disparities in general. Smoking menthol cigarettes makes it harder for people to quit and increases the likelihood of starting smoking as a teenager or young adult.
Despite attempts by the tobacco industry to thwart bans on characterizing flavors, such as menthol, approximately 40 countries now have bans that prevent cigarettes and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco products from having a flavor that masks the taste or smell of smoke. These countries have also prohibited flavored accessories, such as menthol drops, capsules, or cards that can be inserted into a pack of cigarettes or pouch of RYO to add a flavored aroma.
These policies are linked to increased quit rates and lower youth smoking rates. Yet, they may not be effective in the long term if the tobacco industry exploits loopholes to circumvent the policy and continue selling menthol cigarettes.
The Black Community
In the decades since tobacco industry advertising became more sophisticated, menthol cigarettes have been heavily targeted in black communities. The flavorings that make menthol cigarettes unique, like sugar, licorice, and glycerin, also make the poison inside them more addictive and harder to quit, health experts say.
Almost 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, and many begin as a teenager. Before the 2009 law banning additives to cigarettes took effect, tobacco companies used “egregious marketing strategies,” like placing ads featuring musicians like Dizzy Gillespie next to a pack of Kools, to appeal to black consumers. The industry also gave free menthol cigarettes to Black influencers, like barbers and bellhops, as part of an attempt to build markets surreptitiously.
While most Americans support a ban on the sale of flavored cigarettes, including menthol, the tobacco industry has spent millions of dollars trying to stop the ban.
Criminalization
In a country with high rates of police violence against Black people, banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars could increase crime in minority communities. This is because when law enforcement officers encounter a person selling untaxed, individually packaged cigarettes, they are likely to believe the person is committing a crime and may respond with force.
The FDA has received numerous public comments about how cracking down on menthol cigarettes would affect the communities that depend on them. Many of the most vocal opponents have been Congressional Black Caucus members who have urged Biden to reject the proposal, and several former lawmakers met with senior White House officials—including FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra—to warn them against a ban. The tobacco industry has spent millions of dollars in recent years donating to Republican-controlled super PACs and lobbying in Congress to prevent the FDA from banning menthol cigarettes. It is high time for the government to act with urgency and implement this landmark policy, which will protect kids from nicotine addiction, advance racial equity, and save hundreds of thousands of lives, especially in Black communities.
