Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the ban, which will also outlaw flavored cigars, would reduce disease and death by helping current smokers quit and stopping younger people from starting.
The U.S. government was poised Thursday to unveil its long-awaited plan to ban mint-flavored menthol cigarettes, which are disproportionately smoked by people of color. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the ban, which will also outlaw flavored cigars, would reduce disease and death by helping current smokers quit and stopping younger people from starting. “Black folks die disproportionately of heart disease, lung cancer and stroke,” said Phillip Gardiner of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. “Menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars are the main vectors of those diseases in the Black and brown communities, and have been for a long time.
