Public health and civil rights advocates celebrate the revival of the effort to end the sale of menthol cigarettes in New York City, coming later today when City Councilmember Rita Joseph will introduce legislation to reduce the heavy toll of menthol cigarettes on New Yorkers’ lives and lungs. Intro 1152 would prohibit the more than 5,000 licensed tobacco retailers in New York City from selling menthol cigarettes. The legislation is being championed by No More Menthols NYC-- a diverse, citywide campaign of civil rights and health advocates, including community groups, faith leaders, public health organizations and others.
The introduction of Intro 1152 comes on the heels of a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General on the deadly impact of tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. The report found that the design and aggressive marketing of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, has driven tobacco-related health disparities. It also asserted that restricting the availability of menthol cigarettes can be effective in reducing smoking initiation and prevalence. Advocates argue that the data underscore the importance of Intro 1152 and give city leaders a clear, evidence-based pathway to limit the burden of menthol on their communities.
Tobacco companies spend over $162 million per year in New York to market their deadly and addictive products. For decades, tobacco companies have targeted Black people, Hispanic/Latino communities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, neighborhoods with more Asian residents, limited-income neighborhoods and youth through price promotions and heavy marketing, leading to higher rates of menthol use and tobacco-related diseases.
Intro 1152 establishes that it is not illegal for a person to purchase, use or possess menthol cigarettes and defines what it means to be a licensed tobacco retailer. Doing so aims to ensure that enforcement of the new law is focused exclusively on the 5,000 licensed cigarette retailers in New York City and not individuals simply in possession of tobacco products.
Prime sponsor of Intro 1152 Councilmember Rita Joseph said, “Intro 1152 was born of and for my community. It will not prohibit or criminalize the individual purchase, use or possession of menthol cigarettes in any way, but instead prevent further harm from this destructive product and, in doing so, save New Yorkers’ lives.” She continued, “For too long, we’ve allowed Big Tobacco to endanger the lungs and take the lives of the people who built and nurtured this community. This legislation will right this wrong and help us to start chipping away at the health disparities that pervade our city. With each day we wait to act on this issue, we risk more youth starting to smoke and getting hooked on menthols. I hope my colleagues agree and lend their support to this bill.”
Intro 1152 co-sponsor Councilmember Shekar Krishnan said, "Cigarettes are addictive and deadly. And while most flavored cigarettes have been banned, menthol-flavored cigarettes -- which are disproportionately marketed to Black youth -- are still sold, causing diseases that kill thousands of Black Americans every year. This legislation to ban menthol cigarettes, re-introduced by my colleague Councilmember Rita Joseph, is urgent and quite literally a matter of life and death for countless New Yorkers."
Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse, who is also a co-sponsor of Intro 1152, said, “As a nurse, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating toll that tobacco products, particularly menthol cigarettes, have taken on Black and Latino communities. For decades, tobacco companies have targeted certain neighborhoods with predatory marketing, leading to higher rates of addiction and subsequent disease. This bill represents a critical move toward fairness and advancing health equity, ensuring that we prioritize the well-being of our residents over the profits of big tobacco companies.”
"Imagine the horror of watching your mother's skin peel off her body before your eyes, ravaged by the cancer caused by menthol cigarettes. Imagine having to explain to your innocent child why their grandmother is no longer here, stolen away by an industry that knowingly peddled addiction and death to Black communities. Big Tobacco targeted us with the lie that menthol cigarettes were cool, knowing menthol makes them 80% harder to quit. This was a calculated attack on our families," said Shanequa Charles, Executive Director, Miss Abbie’s Kids. "Menthol cigarettes are engineered addiction. How many more loved ones must we lose? City Councilmembers, which side of history would you like your legacy to reflect? End the sale of menthol. Choose life. Choose our children's future. Choose to give our children the gift of grandparents."
The NAACP is a strong proponent of Intro 1152, as with the proposals introduced in years past. Dr. Hazel Dukes, President, New York State Chapter, NAACP, said, “We are long overdue to enact legislation in New York City that prioritizes Black and Brown peoples’ health. The City Council has acted to curb all other flavored tobacco use but not menthol. As a result of decades-long targeting by tobacco companies, Black and Brown people predominantly use menthol cigarettes, contributing to disproportionately negative health outcomes in communities of color. We need councilmembers to heed the persistent, fierce calls of medical, public health and community leaders and end the sale of menthol cigarettes in our city.”
Dr. Phil Gardiner, Founding Member & Co-Chair, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, said, “Menthol has been the main killer of Black folks for decades. With the passage of Intro 1152, we can put an end to this carnage in New York City!”
Religious leaders throughout the city have come out in support of Intro 1152. “What more do Black New Yorkers have to do to convince the people in power that menthols are predatory products from a predatory industry that are poisoning our lungs, stealing our health, our wealth, our time, our constitutional rights to equal protection and ending our lives?” said Reverend Kirsten Foy, President, The Arc of Justice. “As someone who has suffered from an addiction to menthol cigarettes, I implore City Councilmembers to see this proposal for what it is: a commonsense solution to an epidemic plaguing our communities by a centuries old vestige of slavery and a clap back against an industry that has been putting Black people in bondage for centuries, first chains and now biochemical addiction.”
“Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in New York City with about 80% of cases resulting from smoking," said Michael Davoli, Senior Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “Our city leaders play a critical role in protecting New Yorkers' lives and health, giving them the chance to live a tobacco-free life. They can do so by passing Intro 1152 without delay. Cancer patients and survivors across the city are eager to see our leaders act to reduce the burden of tobacco and save lives.”
Michael Seilback, AVP, Nationwide Advocacy, State Policy, American Lung Association, added, “For far too long, elected officials have allowed the tobacco industry to prey on the lives of Black and Brown communities causing more lung disease and death. Menthol cigarettes have been intentionally marketed to hook generations of kids to this deadly product which is flavored to mask its harshness. With the failure of the Biden administration to act federally to end the sale of menthol cigarettes, the time is now for the City Council to pass this important piece of legislation.”
“Ending the sale of menthol cigarettes is a critical step toward dismantling the predatory tactics of Big Tobacco that have disproportionately harmed Black and Brown communities in New York City for decades," said Lisa David, President & CEO, Public Health Solutions. "This legislation is a vital public health measure that will save lives, reduce health disparities, and protect our children from the grip of nicotine addiction. We urge the City Council to act swiftly to prioritize the health and well-being of all New Yorkers."
Parents Against Vaping (PAVE) Co-founders Meredith Berkman & Dorian Fuhrman said, “As a parent organization fighting to protect kids from the harms of flavored nicotine products, we know that the tobacco industry has historically used flavors—and, specifically, menthol--to attract youth and other priority populations, creating generational nicotine addiction and destroying the lives of millions of NYC families.” They continued, “If we don’t get rid of all menthol products—including menthol cigarettes that have been directly marketed to Black smokers—we are allowing a new generation to become lifelong nicotine addicts and the tobacco industry’s new lifetime customers.”
“By ending the sale of menthol cigarettes, New York City can protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity and save lives, especially Black lives. We applaud Councilmember Joseph for her leadership in working to stop the tobacco industry’s predatory targeting of Black and other communities, which has gone on for decades at an enormous cost in health and lives. We urge the City Council to swiftly enact this lifesaving legislation,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, Director of Advocacy – Northeast Region, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“Menthol-flavored tobacco time and again has been cited as a gateway to life-long cigarette addiction among teenagers, women, and communities of color,” said Natalia Cineas, DNP, MSM-N, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, FADLN, President, New York City Board of Directors, American Heart Association. “As a result of decades of targeted marketing of menthol-flavored tobacco to communities of color, these groups suffer the highest rates of tobacco-related illness and death in the U.S. City administration needs to hold the tobacco industry accountable and pass legislation to restrict access of menthol-flavored tobacco to these susceptible populations in order to improve the overall health outcomes of city residents.”
To learn more about the effort to the end sale of menthol cigarettes in New York City, visit https://nomorementhols.org/.
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About ACS CAN
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) advocates for evidence-based public policies to reduce the cancer burden for everyone. We engage our volunteers across the country to make their voices heard by policymakers at every level of government. We believe everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. Since 2001, as the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN has successfully advocated for billions of dollars in cancer research funding, expanded access to quality affordable health care, and advanced proven tobacco control measures. We stand with our volunteers, working to make cancer a top priority for policymakers in cities, states and our nation’s capital. Join the fight by visiting www.fightcancer.org.