Racial Bias In Proposed Menthol Cigarette Ban

they coming for the KOOLS

Ben Crump Warns Of Racial Bias In Proposed Menthol Cigarette Ban


The Biden administration has indicated that it is planning on banning menthol-flavored cigarettes as part of a larger effort to prohibit flavored tobacco products. While these measures are intended to protect children, who are often enticed to become smokers through the availability of products like flavored e-cigarettes, the inclusion of menthol cigarettes is also expected to have a racialized impact, as 85 percent of Black smokers favor these over non-menthol cigarettes. Despite the potential for positive health benefits for Black people, some scholars and activists have warned that this proposed ban could have negative unintended consequences for the Black community. As we get closer to the ban being put in place, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump has joined the voices warning against the ban, and the famed lawyer sat down with Blavity News to explain his opposition to the new regulation.

"Unintended consequence" of a good-intentioned law
Crump warned that “the old saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions'” is an appropriate way to think about this proposal, noting that the menthol cigarette ban could have very serious “unintended consequences” for the Black community. Specifically, Crump warned that implementing the ban would be “creating another pretextual reason for the police to have interactions that lead to Black people being convicted felons, or even worse ending up like Patrick Lyoya,” referring to the 26-year-old Black man who was fatally shot in the head by a police officer after a traffic stop earlier this month. Crump is now representing Lyoya’s family.

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