Menthol cigarettes kill many Blacks; a ban may be near
The banning of menthol cigarettes, the mint-flavored products that have been aggressively marketed to Black Americans, has long been an elusive goal for public health regulators.
But COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement have put new pressure on Congress and the White House to reduce racial health disparities. And there are few starker examples than this: Black smokers smoke less but die of heart attacks, strokes and other causes linked to tobacco use at higher rates than white smokers do, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 85% of Black smokers use Newport, Kool and other menthol brands that are easier to become addicted to and harder to quit than plain tobacco, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
“COVID-19 exposed the discriminatory treatment that Black people have been facing for hundreds of years,” said Dr. Phillip Gardiner, a co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, which has been pushing for menthol bans in communities across the country. Calling menthol cigarettes and cigarillos “main vectors” of disease and death among Black Americans, he added, “It’s precisely at this time that we need strong public health measures.”
There is now growing momentum in Congress to enact a ban. In states and municipalities across the country, Black public health activists have been organizing support and getting new laws passed at the state and local level. Public opposition among white parents to all flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol, has brought new resources to the issue. And the FDA is under a court order to respond to a citizens’ petition to ban menthol by April 29.
Advocates are hoping that President Joe Biden, whose campaign had strong support from Black voters and who has put addressing health inequities front and center among his goals, will soon come out in favor of a ban.
“I have no doubt that it’s time for a ban on menthol,” said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., who led the Congressional Black Caucus during the last Congress. “We should never allow a chemical that is specifically targeted to a population, that increases death, no matter who it is. In this case, it’s menthol and the Black population. I’m so excited that we have an administration that puts racial equity and health disparities at top of its agenda.”
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the White House, declined to say whether Biden supported a menthol ban, but he noted the president’s past support for tobacco control measures.
“We are thinking about all of our options that could help reduce tobacco use and address persistent disparities,” Munoz said.
Gardiner and other public health advocates are particularly concerned about the growing popularity of menthol cigars and cigarillos among Black teenagers. The 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted by the federal government, found that 6.5% of Black students in high school and middle school smoked cigars and cigarillos compared with 2.5% who smoked traditional cigarettes. The FDA says that menthol is the preferred flavor for the cigarillos, which are cheap and mass-produced, unlike premium cigars.
Menthol is a substance found in mint plants, and it can also be synthesized in a lab. It creates a cooling sensation in tobacco products and masks the harshness of the smoke, making it more tolerable. Some studies have shown that menthol also acts as a mild anesthetic. Back in 1953, when menthol was not widely used, a Philip Morris Co. survey revealed that 2% of white smokers preferred a menthol brand, while 5% of Black smokers did, according to a review of tobacco industry documents by Gardiner that was published in 2004 by the medical journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.