In a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and members of Congress, the ACLU noted that about 80% of Black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes, and warned the ban "will trigger criminal penalties, which will disproportionately impact people of color," lead to "constitutional policing," and "prioritize criminalization over public health and harm reduction." While acknowledging that it would be best if no one smoked, the ACLU also seemed to question the necessity of the menthol ban, citing government data showing "cigarette use is down to 2.3% from 13% in 2002" and that among underage African-Americans it's down to 1.1%
Researchers from Columbia University examined the lung function of 25,000 people, including smokers, ex-smokers, and those who have never smoked
We know if they were cigarettes, what theyre doing now would be banned, Frieden says
[2] In a departure for the time, the advertising campaign targeted distinct niche groups within the broader market of smokers, such as American Jews [3] and African Americans