News from the Noteworthy from Tobacco Free Communities: Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie
Local Govt’s Can Ban Menthol Cigarette Sales
Our nation is on the precipice of banning sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars—or not. After years of fits and starts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed the ban in 2022 and sent its rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget in October 2023 for final review, the last regulatory step. The OMB was expected to complete its process by early January 2024, but in early December, the White House tabled the final review until March 2024, raising fears the ban on sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars could be delayed for years again.
A delay in enacting the federal ban on menthol cigarette and flavored cigar sales means a delay in saving many lives. The FDA predicts the ban will prevent 300,000-650,000 smoking deaths over the next several decades, one third of which will be Black Americans. This is because about 86 percent of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, following decades of the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing of menthol cigarettes to Black Americans. This included connecting menthol cigarettes to Black American culture and civil rights institutions. The tobacco industry has also aggressively marketed menthol cigarettes to kids, Hispanics, women, LGBTQIA+ communities, and populations with low social economic status as well.
Why has there been a decades-long push to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes? The reason is, menthol makes smoking easier to start and harder to quit. Science supports this: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports, “Menthol enhances the effects of nicotine on the brain and can make tobacco products even more addictive.” The grim outcomes also demonstrate it: Black Americans smoke at lower rates than white Americans, but they die from preventable tobacco-related diseases at higher rates. They have a lower rate of quitting smoking than do whites even though they attempt to quit at a higher rate.
Data shows these same disparities in New York State. The Public Health Law Center reports, “In New York State, about 30.5 percent of cigarettes consumed in New York State are menthol, and, in 2018, 86 percent of Black and 72 percent of Hispanic smokers in New York State used menthol cigarettes.” PHLC states that banning the sale of menthol cigarettes in the state alone “would result in 5.6 percent (33,284) of menthol cigarette smokers quitting, prevent 7,800 premature smoking caused deaths, and result in fewer young people starting to smoke cigarettes in the first place.” New York State would also likely see a reduction in the $9.7 billion spent annually on health costs directly caused just by smoking.
The good news is that local governments do not have to wait for the FDA ban to go into effect. They have the authority to enact ordinances prohibiting the sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars that will help prevent youth from ever trying them, help people quit, and prevent people from dying of tobacco-related illnesses. County or municipal laws can also build momentum toward a successful statewide policy by showing sales restrictions can be successfully implemented at the local level. In California, the state legislature passed a statewide ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products in 2020 after numerous California cities passed laws to ban them in the 2010s.
In 2023, Governor Hochul proposed to end the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes in New York State. While her proposal failed to gain the support of a majority of New York State legislators, local governments throughout the state continue to consider laws banning the sales of all flavored tobacco products or restricting where tobacco products can be sold. For more information on the impact of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, visit our website at www.GoTobaccoFreeDOS.org.
Jennifer Hill is the community engagement coordinator for Tobacco Free Communities: Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie.