Tobacco Kills NY Responds to Lawmakers' Failure to Include Flavored Tobacco Ban in State Budget

ALBANY, NY (03/14/2023) (readMedia)-- Today, both the NYS Senate and Assembly released their one house budgets. While both houses included an increase to the cigarette tax, they both failed to include a ban on flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.

Below are statements from President of the NAACP New York State Conference, Dr. Hazel Dukes and President and CEO of The Arc of Justice, Reverend Kirsten Foy. Both are members of the Tobacco Kills NY Coalition:

"Although the proposed $1 tax on cigarette packs is a major victory for racial equity and public health in New York, it is disappointing that lawmakers have failed to take up the Governor's proposal to ban all flavored tobacco products - including menthol cigarettes - in their initial budget proposals. But several weeks are left in this budget negotiation-plenty of time for the concerns of our community to be heard and a ban on these dangerous products to be enacted. Banning menthol-flavored products will save the lives of thousands of New Yorkers - mostly Black and brown smokers - and our children will be much less likely to pick up the deadly habit. In the coming weeks, our coalition of civil rights and public health advocates will stand with New Yorkers from around the state to ask lawmakers a simple question: do you stand with Big Tobacco and their profits, or with the Black and brown communities being targeted by their dangerous products every day?" said President of the NAACP New York State Conference, Dr. Hazel Dukes.

"While it's great that lawmakers included a cigarette tax in their budgets, I am extremely disappointed in the lawmakers who chose to side with Big Tobacco instead of addressing a public health crisis that kills thousands of Black and Latino people. There has been a complete disregard for the need for fundamental police reform measures that we have been fighting for since the death of Eric Garner and police using cigarettes as a predicate for stop and arrests. Menthol cigarettes are a cancer in our communities that were created and designed to kill us. Don't get it twisted: the NYPD will have zero role in enforcing the sale of menthol products. Big Tobacco is scared of losing 90,000 smokers who will stop if we ban menthol. There is no stopping how low Big Tobacco will stoop to keep its market share at the cost of Black and brown communities. In the next few weeks, we will be working to make sure lawmakers know it's time to ban menthol-flavored products once and for all," said President and CEO of The Arc of Justice, Reverend Kirsten Foy.

A recent poll out from Siena College showed a significant majority of New Yorkers surveyed were in favor of the proposed ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products, with 57% in favor versus 35% against. New Yorkers are also in favor of a one-dollar tax increase on cigarettes, with only a third of respondents against the measure, according to the poll.

Additionally, a new poll conducted by Global Strategy Group paid for by Tobacco Kills NY – a diverse, statewide campaign of civil rights and health advocates, including the NAACP, faith-leaders, public health groups, and others – showed that three-out-of-five Black and Latino New Yorkers support a ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products. Fifty-five percent of Black voters supported banning menthol with 42 percent opposed; and 72 percent of Latino voters supported with 27 percent opposed, according to the poll. Overall, 64 percent of New Yorkers favored ending the sale of flavored tobacco products in New York State. See cross tabs.

New York State made great strides to prevent youth tobacco use by restricting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in 2020–but the new regulations still allowed other dangerous flavored tobacco products known to increase addiction to continue to be sold. Menthol cigarettes, which are much easier to smoke and more addictive than regular tobacco, are still available on shelves and the number one way Big Tobacco hooks young smokers and keeps Black New Yorkers addicted.

For generations, Big Tobacco has aggressively marketed flavored tobacco products to underage users and communities of color, creating disproportionately negative health outcomes for African-Americans in particular. In New York State, menthol cigarettes are used by over half of all adult smokers (52%). 86% of Black smokers and 72% of Hispanic smokers smoke menthols. Now 62% of Americans support a ban on menthol, including two-thirds of Black Americans. Half of young people (ages 12-17) who had ever tried smoking start with menthol cigarettes. In 2021, 41.1% of high school smokers reported using menthol cigarettes.