The FDA is proposing a ban on menthol cigarettes in the United States claiming that they want to reduce cigarette smoking and deaths related to cigarette smoking. In multiple reports, they are stating that 85% of people that smoke menthol cigarettes are black. It seems as though they are targeting the black community and possibly adding another way for people in the black community to get locked up.  This is criminalizing cigarette smokers.  

I worked with people from South Africa during the height of the world wide pandemic where the South African government banned all cigarettes as a way to stop the spread of COVID. This led to suicidal thoughts/behaviors from smokers. This also led people to smoke their own make shift cigarettes of things that were more harmful to their health. This also led to a black market of illegal cigarette sales with unregulated cigarettes. And lastly, this led to many people getting locked up for having cigarettes. 

If this proposed ban goes into effect it will have a horrendous impact on smokers. This is not the way to effectively get people to quit smoking. Please sign this petition and stand with the people that will be negatively impacted by this malicious attack on people who smoke menthol cigarettes.  

There are many smoking cessation programs for people to help them quit smoking. Those can be found through your local doctors office, health departments, and many free resources on the internet including truthinitiative.org. Let’s provide resources and allow people to make the choice for themselves to quit smoking and not criminalize people for their addiction!