NAACP, Public Health Groups, Electeds Launch Menthols Kill NYC Campaign

NEW YORK, NY (01/19/2023) (readMedia)-- On Thursday, dozens of advocates from the NAACP, Campaign from Tobacco Free Kids, Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and others launched the Menthol Kills NYC campaign to protect communities of color and end the sale of flavored tobacco products in 2023. Council Member Rita Joseph, who has introduced legislation (Intro 577) that will ban these sales, joined the event with other Council Members including Mercedes Narcisse, Keith Powers, Lincoln Restler, Farah Louis, Carlina Rivera and Shekar Krishnan. 16 Members co sponsor the bill so far. Borough Presidents Mark Levine and Antonio Reynoso – who sponsored legislation in 2019 that ended the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in -– re-affirmed their support for a full flavored tobacco restriction.

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The campaign also released two 60-second and 30-second ads featuring President of the NAACP New York State Conference Dr. Hazel Dukes, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, along with two other New Yorkers, sharing their personal stories about losing relatives and friends to diseases related to menthol cigarette addiction.

Menthol, which is an organic compound made from peppermint, masks the harsh taste of tobacco flavor, making it easier to start smoking and harder to quit. Big Tobacco has aggressively marketed flavored tobacco products to underage users for decades to hook new generations of smokers-particularly in communities of color, where menthol cigarettes are sold to young people, creating disproportionately negative health outcomes for African Americans.

"Every day without a ban on menthol cigarettes, another Black and brown teenager gets addicted to a substance that can kill them. It's time for the biggest city in the world to lead and remove these easier to start – and harder to quit – cigarettes from the market. We know Speaker Adams is committed to protecting communities of color and we look forward to working with her and the rest of the Council to pass Intro 577 as soon as possible," said Candace Prince-Modeste, campaign manager of Menthols Kill NYC.

"The tobacco industry has long targeted young people, communities of color, LGBTQIA+, women and other distinctive communities with harmful flavored products, namely menthol," stated Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, President-Elect of the American Heart Association, NYC Board up of Directors. "These products only serve to addict new generations and sentence them to a lifetime of tobacco-related disease. It is time to restrict the sale of these dangerous menthol tobacco products. On behalf of the American Heart Association, I ask for the quick passage of Intro 577, the newly introduced legislation by Council Member Rita Joseph, which aims to ban the sale of menthol, mint, and wintergreen flavored cigarettes once and for all."

"My father, a saxophone player, seemed like he could hold a note for hours, until he lost his breath. It was menthol cigarettes that quickly hooked my father into a deadly cycle we're too familiar with and he's gone too early," said Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn. "Years later, Black fathers are still dying at an alarming, disproportionate rate because of menthol cigarettes. New York needs to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and prevent these tragic deaths today."

"Menthol kills, it kills Black people more, it kills Black people more on purpose. Every study has shown and proven this fact. Menthol killed my mother, so this is personal. My daughter deserved a grandmother past the age of two. Ban menthol today," said Shanequa Charles, activist who lost her mother to menthol related diseases.

"For far too long, the tobacco industry has targeted black and brown communities in New York with deadly products including menthol cigarettes. The time is now for the City Council to once and for all to close the loophole and pass the bill to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes in New York City," said Mike Sielback, National Assistant Vice President of State Public Policy at the American Lung Association.

"This legislation would be a huge step toward keeping another generation of kids from getting hooked on cancer causing tobacco, and, with it, reducing the number of cancer deaths across New York in the future," said Michael Davoli, Senior Government Relations Director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "The City Council's decision to prioritize this legislation is the aggressive action we need to curtail tobacco use."

"Smoking-related illnesses are the number one cause of death among Black Americans nationwide, and over 90% of Black smokers started their deadly habit using menthol cigarettes. We must act to end Big Tobacco's decades-long targeting of the Black community and ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in New York City. As a nurse, I have seen first-hand the devastating effect smoking has on so many New Yorkers, and the heavily marketed menthol-flavored tobacco products is so often what got these individuals hooked in the first place. We must act now to save lives and pass Intro 577,"said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse.

"I'm proud to stand with Council Member Joseph and my colleagues to end the sale of flavored tobacco in New York City. We've seen far too many young people get hooked on flavored tobacco products and far too many lives cut short. This legislation is an essential step in ensuring healthy, thriving communities and will undoubtedly save the lives of many New Yorkers," said Majority Leader Keith Powers.

"I am proud to support this bill that would prohibit the sales of flavored cigarettes in New York City and applaud my colleagues in the Council for advancing this important piece of legislation to stop the tobacco industry from profiting from our communities. I want to thank the Flavors Hook Kids Coalition and my colleagues in government for prioritizing the health of our children, brothers and sisters," said Council Member Lincoln Restler.

"Growing up in the Lower East Side, I remember how tobacco companies targeted my community with ads and frequent product pushes resulting in harmful long-term health impacts to our neighbors. I am proud of the coalition led by young people to restrict the sale of flavored cigarettes and vape and stop these predatory practices seen most acutely in Black and brown and lower income communities across the five boroughs. We must stop the sale of these tobacco products that are a threat to our public health and neighborhoods," said Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02).

"Every menthol cigarette we allow to be sold in this city is an endorsement of Big Tobacco's predatory campaign to get our kids – especially Black and Brown children – hooked on cancer-causing cigarettes," said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. "Menthol cigarettes can lead to lifelong addictions, yet despite being the most smoked and most dangerous flavored tobacco product, they've evaded similar bans on flavored e-cigarettes. We've let this industry profit off of the health and well-being of our communities of color for far too long, but thanks to Council Member Rita Joseph and the many others backing this legislation, Big Tobacco's time may soon be up."

"Menthol has had a stranglehold on kids and Black communities for far too long, and we are finally going to close this deadly loophole," said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. "Despite the progress we've made against Big Tobacco in the last decade, banning menthol has remained elusive. But we're going to win this fight once and for all with Intro 577."

"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, introduced by my colleague Councilmember Joseph, is urgent and quite literally a matter of life and death for countless New Yorkers," said Council Member Shekar Krishnan.

In New York City, 89 percent of Black adults and 63 percent of Latino adults who smoke use menthol cigarettes, as compared to 32 percent of white adults. More than half of youth smokers and seven-out-of-ten young African Americans smoke menthols. Eight-out-of-ten African Americans prefer menthols overall.

According to an analysis done by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) estimated that if the City implemented a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes today, over the next two years, nearly 90,000 New Yorkers (the majority of whom being Black and Latino adults) would quit smoking, and nearly 3,000 young adults would not start smoking entirely who would have otherwise.

In 2013, the City Council enacted a local law that banned the sale of flavored tobacco products – but excluded menthol. In 2019, the New York City Council passed legislation banning flavored e-cigarettes, but a ban on menthol products was not brought for a vote.

Members of the Menthols Kill NYC coalition include: Statewide National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, NY African American Clergy and Elected Official organization (AACEO), American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), New York Communities for Change, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council NAATPN, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Neighbors in Action United Concerned Citizens, Bishop Courtenay of Emmanuel Church of God in Brooklyn, Rev. Addie Banks of The Groundswell Group, Miss Abbie's Kids, Arthur Ashe Institute Public Health, among others.