White House press secretary Jen Psaki disputed claims raised on Thursday that President Joe Biden’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars unfairly targets the black community.
Psaki opened Thursday’s press briefing by touting the Food and Drug Administration’s new proposed rules, which she claimed would help “enforce regulations related to what stores sell and what companies manufacture and distribute, which is a critical action to prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers, help adult smokers quit, and significantly reduce tobacco-related health disparities.”
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Still, she faced a number of questions about opposition to the ban from some black activists, lawmakers, and interest groups.
Psaki claimed that the regulations “absolutely” won’t “profile” black smokers “because this rule would go after manufacturers and people who sell, not individuals who smoke menthol cigarettes, and it would save lives.”
She cited a statement from the NAACP on the topic about how “the tobacco industry has been targeting African Americans and have contributed to the skyrocketing rates of heart disease, stroke, and cancer across our community.”
In a second exchange, Psaki denied that such regulations would “split” the black vote ahead of the midterm elections.
“This is a public health decision made by the FDA, and the objective of it was not to address politics or handle politics in one way or another but to save lives,” she said. “The studies estimate that with menthol cigarettes, if they’re no longer available, it could prevent over 650,000 deaths, including 238,000 African Americans.”
“There are also higher rates of use by children and young adults. Menthol also increases the appeal of cigarettes, makes them easier to use, especially for kids, and what we have seen, as you know, is decades of targeted marketing activities at the African American community to promote further purchasing,” Psaki concluded. “What I think is important for everybody to know and understand, including opponents, is this is not targeting individuals. This is not to give anybody license to arrest somebody who is smoking a cigarette, a menthol cigarette. This is going after the manufacturers of this. It is going after those who are selling because we have seen decades of marketing targeted activities at exactly these communities.”
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You can watch Thursday’s briefing in full below.
