Where there’s smoke ...
... there’s fiery Albany fight over menthol cig ban
ALBANY — A battle is smoldering in the state Capitol over a bill banning menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco.
Opponents trying to stub out the legislation claim an amendment recently added to the measure could boost the black market for illicit smokes, embolden scofflaws and prevent cops from doing their job.
“When has public safety not been part of your public health strategy?” said Richard Marianos, a law enforcement consultant and retired assistant director at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Brooklyn) and Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), bans all flavored tobacco and vaping products in an attempt to prevent kids from getting hooked on nicotine and lower smoking levels in minority communities. A similar effort stalled in the City Council.
Critics, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, initially argued the proposal could lead to more black New Yorkers being targeted and harassed by cops for simply smoking menthol cigarettes or having a pack on them.
Bichotte (top inset) and Hoylman, (bottom inset) after consulting with the NYPD, added a clause they believe addresses the issue by barring cops from stopping, questioning or arresting someone just because they are puffing on menthol cigarettes or are in possession of a pack. It also clarifies that the ban, on sales, should be enforced by the Health Department, not the police.
But Marianos says the new language would tie the hands of cops when confronting traffickers bringing in smokes from other states, already a lucrative trade due to New York’s high tobacco taxes.
“Cops now are going to be hamstrung in terms of trying to enforce any type of criminal activity,” Marianos said. “Specifically, in New York, you have a $10 billion a year problem in which 60% of the cigarettes being sold come from the black market and now you’re taking enforcement powers away from the police.”
Bichotte, whose father died from cancer tied to smoking, accused tobacco companies of preying upon African-Americans for decades with targeted advertising for menthols and said e-cigarette companies are now doing the same with teens. She also says the renewed pushback against the bill is nothing but smoke and mirrors backed by Big Tobacco.
“It’s an absurd argument. This bill doesn’t change the tax statute, that will still be enforced,” she said. “To again try to find technical faults, narratives that will ride on the ignorance of my community, is wrong. This is not about possession; there is no criminal offense language.”
Bichotte has previously shot back at Sharpton’s National Action Network for taking money from tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds.
Hoylman said lawmakers are trying to see through the smoke and take valid concerns about the ban into consideration.
“Big Tobacco is back at it again, fearmongering and spreading misinformation about this vital public health legislation,” he said. “We’re sensitive to concerns by civil rights advocates that a menthol cigarette ban could pose particular concerns … which is why this amendment is necessary.”
The skirmish comes as Gov. Cuomo has vowed to include language in the state budget that will prohibit the sale of “all” flavored e-cigarettes and vaping ads targeted to youth. Bichotte says she has received assurances from the governor that if the Legislature passes the menthol ban, he will sign it.