WESTCHESTER, NY – December 6, 2022 – Last week, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, hookah, cigars and smokeless tobacco products. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) applauds the Board members for prioritizing the health of children, people of color and LGBTQ+ communities over Big Tobacco’s interests and bottom line and calls on the County Executive to sign the bill into law.
The following is a statement from ACS CAN New York Director of Government Relations Michael Davoli:
“With their vote to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products, Westchester County has shown they will not allow Big Tobacco to keep profiting at the expense of the health of our communities. To finalize this positive step, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network urges the Westchester County Executive to sign this bill into law today.
“Big Tobacco has a long history of using flavored tobacco products to target people with limited incomes, communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities, which has led to undue health disparities. Largely because of the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing of menthol, Blacks who smoke have a harder time quitting and die at higher rates from tobacco-related diseases like heart disease, stroke and cancer, representing the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial group for most cancers. By instituting the legislation passed by the Board, the County Executive would be taking a huge step in addressing definitive health disparities in Westchester.
“We know that any flavored product that is left on the market risks becoming the next go-to product for residents and will allow the tobacco industry to continue to prey on our communities. ACS CAN volunteers will continue to work with local, state and federal lawmakers to pass policies that reduce tobacco use, address the health disparities it inflicts and decrease tobacco-related diseases like cancer.”
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About ACS CAN
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) makes cancer a top priority for policymakers at every level of government. ACS CAN empowers volunteers across the country to make their voices heard to influence evidence-based public policy change that saves lives. We believe everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, find, 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 made workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free. As we mark our 20th anniversary, we’re more determined than ever to stand together with our volunteers and save more lives from cancer. Join the fight by visiting www.fightcancer.org