The Biden administration is considering a ban on menthol cigarettes, but, in a rare twist, is facing opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
Critics claim that the proposed ban is racist, would inadvertently fund terrorism and even make the southern border more dangerous.
An estimated 85% of Black smokers use menthols, compared with 30% of white smokers, according to the FDA.
The Washington Examiner continues:
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to release its decision as early as this week on whether it will implement a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, following through with a proposal that was first floated by the agency in spring 2021. Lawmakers and advocacy groups alike have criticized the proposal, arguing it would lead to an increase in illicit sales as well as inconsistent enforcement.
“Banning products does not curb consumer demand, but rather fuels illicit markets. Products made and sold without FDA oversight are much more likely to contain dangerous additives,” a group of more than 60 criminal justice and drug reform groups wrote in a letter to Biden on Tuesday. “The current fentanyl crisis is a perfect example of how an underground market puts the public in danger.”
Republicans have long pushed back against the proposed ban, with a handful of Democratic lawmakers also coming out in opposition as the FDA nears its decision. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) joined Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) in a letter sent to the FDA, urging the agency to reverse course.
The pair of lawmakers cited concerns with national security that a proposed menthol ban would pose, arguing such a move could “open a massive revenue stream for this Hamas-allied foreign terrorist organization.”
A ban on menthols could potentially strengthen cartels and increase the danger at the southern border, according to the New Conservative Post:
“Our southern border is in crisis mode, providing illicit opportunities for transnational organizations, i.e., criminal cartels, to exploit their violent and criminal enterprises for greed,” Cochise County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Daniels told the Washington Examiner.
Daniels, who chairs the National Sheriffs’ Association’s Border Security Committee, also said that making “a product in the United States illegal to possess redirects the problem to criminal behavior.”
Native American groups have called for a halt to the decision, citing the potential for increased crime and black-market goods infiltrating their communities. The Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) issued a statement, saying in part: “As with other forms of prohibition, unregulated supply chains will take over once legal pathways to adult consumers are closed off. Banning the legal sale of menthol and nicotine-containing cigarettes will cede control of the market to illicit producers.”
“Tribes are painfully aware from our experience with the fentanyl crisis that criminal interests in China, the Middle East and Mexico already use various channels to traffic drugs through and concentrate drugs on our reservations, where the jurisdictional maze and chronic underfunding of tribal law enforcement leaves a persistent gaps for public safety. The Rules will strain already overburdened tribal law enforcement,” it continued.
Drawing from his experience as a tribal police officer, COLT’s executive director O.J. Seman warned, “I can tell you that the risks of FDA’s prohibitions on menthol and nicotine are huge for Indian Country.”
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