chasovschik

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups sent a letter to the Biden administration earlier this week, pushing back against a potential ban on menthol cigarettes. The groups said that such a move would “Disproportionately Impact People and Communities of Color, Trigger Criminal Penalties, and Lead to Negative Interactions with Law Enforcement.” The letter pointed to the cases of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and George Floyd as situations where cigarettes were involved, adding that “well-intentioned efforts to continue to reduce death and disease from tobacco products must avoid solutions that will create yet another reason for armed police to engage citizens on the street based on pretext or conduct that does not pose a threat to public safety.”