(1/14) As many of you may have heard, the FDA is currently considering a menthol ban. This ban has been years in the making- and with thanks to incredible organizers, it’s finally getting the attention that it deserves. So is this ban good or bad? Well let's dish it out….

(2/14) menthol is a chemical extract from mint or corn plants that is added to nearly all cigarettes to make them more palatable and to help relieve/mask the impact of tobacco. Some well known mentholated cigarettes are newports, kool, etc.

(3/14) So why is this ban important?

In 2009, the Tobacco Control Act (1) was passed, which gave the FDA the ability to regulate tobacco products. Included in it, they banned the sales of all FLAVORED cigarettes but exempting menthol products.

(4/14) leaving menthol out was a mistake. Menthol is used at a disproportionate rate - due to big tobacco's marketing tactics (2) and our government's inactions. For example, 85% of all black smokers use menthol products, compared to only 29% of white smokers (3)

(5/14) The tobacco industry has a long history of marketing to the black community. The tobacco industry literally went into black neighborhoods and studied how they lived, what they bought, etc.

(6/14) Nationally, stores in neighborhoods with the highest proportion of Black Americans have twice as many tobacco price promotion ads as stores in neighborhoods with the lowest proportion of Black Americans. (4)

(7/14) Newport cigarettes (the most popular menthol brand) are significantly less expensive in neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black Americans, making them even more appealing to price-sensitive youth. (4)

(8/14) menthol products are also extremely popular among youth. Half a million (530,000) middle & high school students use menthol products and over half of youth who have ever smoked initiated their usage with a menthol product (5)

(9/14) so if you haven’t picked it up yet, menthol is an issue among many different groups. The FDA’s failure to take action on menthol has cost us many valuable lives. If they had acted in 2009….

(10/14) It's estimated that between 2010 and 2020 that 4,700 Black Americans died and 460,000 started smoking because of menthol & it’s estimated that if menthol were banned (in 2009) 340,000 deaths could've been prevented between 2011-2050 a third of them African Americans. (6)

(11/14) In summary, a menthol ban will be helpful for many- and will save us thousands of lives. But the question that many are asking is - what about people who currently use menthol? Well, this ban would take quite a while to implement….