CORRESPONDENCE - #27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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T'he African American Tobacco Control Leadership Count_— lov-iw fly wk L4v- These same groups rail about"unintended consequences." We respond: Look at the Intended Consequences! As mentioned before, Black folks die disproportionately from tobacco related diseases of heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke compared to other racial and ethnic groups. (RSG, 2014); menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars are the agents of that destruction. It is estimated that 45,000 Black folks die each year from tobacco related diseases (RSG, 1998). In this regard, the Council should remove all criminal penalties associated with the purchase, use and possession of all tobacco products. Decriminalize tobacco! Hold retail owners responsible, not clerks, don't punish kids! Still other groups funded by the tobacco industry insist that removing menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars would be taking away "our" cigarette; we'd be discriminatory; racist. This line of argumentation stands history on its head. As was pointed out earlier, it was and is the tobacco industry that predatorially markets these products in the Black Community. The facts are these: there are more advertisements, more lucrative promotions, and most disturbing is that menthol cigarettes are cheaper in the Black Community compared to other communities (Henriksen et al., 2011; Seidenberg et al., 2010). This is how these flavored death sticks became "our" cigarettes, they pushed it down our throats! The AATCLC Formed in 2008, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council is composed of a cadre of dedicated community activists, academics, public health advocates and researchers. Even though based in California, we are national in our scope and reach. We have partnered with community stakeholders, elected officials, and public health agencies, from Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis to Berkeley and San Francisco. Our work has shaped the national discussion and direction of tobacco control policy, practices, and priorities, especially as they affect the lives of Black Americans,African immigrant populations and ultimately all smokers. The AATCLC has been at the forefront in elevating the regulation of mentholated and other flavored tobacco products on the national tobacco control agenda, including testifying at the FDA hearings in 2010 and 2011 when the agency was first considering the removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace. In November of 2019 we testified on Capitol Hill in support of HR 2339 (The Pallone Bill), this bill would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of menthol and all flavored tobacco products throughout the United States. This Bill was passed in the House of Representatives in February of 2020 but went nowhere in the Senate. In June of 2020 the AATCLC along with its partner Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) filed a lawsuit against the FDA for dragging their feet by leaving menthol on the marketplace with overwhelming scientific evidence showing that it should be removed immediately. Subsequently and importantly the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Medical Association (NMA) have joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.