The Rev. Al Sharpton is urging the Biden administration to stop its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, saying the move would only lead to an illicit market and potentially deadly confrontations like the Eric Garner case.
The Sharpton National Action Network sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf, citing the case of Garner, who died in July 2014 on Staten Island after an NYPD officer apply an illegal chokehold attempting to arrest the 43-year-old man. he resident for selling loose cigarettes tax-free.
The FDA sent its final proposal for the ban to the White House Office of Management and Budget in October for review, indicating that the menthol mandate is in its final stages of approval.
OMB will conduct interviews with experts and others on the issue over the next three months before moving forward with the proposal, according to the agency’s website.
“Menthol bans will create illicit markets and more police interactions, especially in minority communities,” NAN wrote in a June 2022 letter to Califf that was obtained by The Post. “For example, Eric Garner was a black man killed by the New York police for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.”
“NAN is uniquely qualified to offer a valuable civil rights perspective on our concerns and unintended consequences,” says the letter, which includes Sharpton along with NAN President Franklyn Richardson.
The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network has come out against the Biden administration’s plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock The NAN letter cited the death of Eric Garner, who was placed in an illegal chokehold by a New York police officer while trying to sell loose cigarettes.
“Historically, policies that lead to bans have profound implications for racial justice,” the organization added.
Civil rights leaders questioned why federal officials were aiming to ban menthol cigarettes, which are disproportionately favored by black smokers, while other cigarettes smoked by whites were not banned.
“Proponents of the proposed rule have failed to explain why the product preferred by black adult smokers will be subject to ban, while select products of the majority will remain legal and available,” NAN leaders said.
They said the ban “puts a microscope on minority communities.”
NAN stated in a letter to the FDA that banning menthol “will create illicit markets and more police interactions.” Getty Images/iStockphoto.
Preachers also said they were baffled by the push for the ban, given that smoking rates have declined significantly overall anyway.
Sharpton and Richardson even adopted a libertarian tone.
“The role of government in a free society is to protect a person’s rights from being violated by his fellow citizens, not to ensure that individuals never make adverse personal decisions,” the NAN letter said. “If some people continue to smoke despite all these factors, they should be free to do so.
The FDA sent its final proposal for the ban to the White House Office of Management and Budget in October for review. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File
“This proposed rule will not reduce the number of people who smoke: instead, it will increase the number of people who use illicit tobacco, creating an underground market for menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars that will remain unregulated,” NAN leaders wrote.
“Prohibition will draw in black market suppliers and criminal networks to meet demand, just as alcohol and drug bans have historically been shown to lead to criminal penalties, disproportionately impact people of color, and prioritize criminalization over public health and harm reduction.
Civil rights advocates said they favored health education programs and smoking cessation programs and other measures “that do not have serious implications of unintended consequences.”
NAN argued that the menthol ban “puts a microscope on minority communities.” Getty Images
Gwen Carr, Eric Garner’s mother, is also leading a campaign against the menthol ban. She even last week urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to speak out against the proposed ban.
Opposition by Carr, Sharpton, and others stalled attempts in New York, Albany, and the New York City Council to ban menthol cigarettes.
The issue has divided the black community. The NAACP supports the ban on menthol, arguing that the tobacco industry has marketed to black residents to get them hooked on flavored cigarettes.
Sharpton told The Post on Sunday that Carr is a member of NAN and that he and the organization were following suit on the issue.
President Biden’s FDA in April 2021 announced a proposed federal rule to ban mint cigarettes, along with flavored cigars, which the agency noted are disproportionately popular among Black smokers.
At the time, the FDA cited a study indicating that a ban on menthol would cause 923,000 smokers (including 230,000 black Americans) to quit within 13 to 17 months.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn