CEI and Other Organizations Sign Coalition Letter Condemning Menthol Prohibition Proposal
We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the united States, strongly urge you to reject any proposed ban on menthol flavored cigarettes or other flavored tobacco products. The evidence clearly demonstrates that, if enacted this proposal would have disastrous consequences for civil liberties, exacerbate racial inequalities, provide a boon for criminal syndicates, and depress state governments revenue while doing nothing to reduce smoking rates.
At a time of increased concern about over-policing, it is unconscionable to criminalize a product used by 12 million Americans, primarily from minority communities. If this proposal were to be enacted, it is inevitable that it would lead to further confrontations between individuals and law enforcement, break down trust even further, and seriously set back the cause of achieving a more just society. In addition, by diverting law enforcement resources to preventing the sale of menthol cigarettes, this would reduce resources available for enforcement actions in other fields, potentially leading to increases in crime at a time when crime statistics are already trending upwards.
We further draw your attention to the fact that any comprehensive analysis of the data from jurisdictions where menthol products have been banned demonstrates that, while most users switch to non-menthol cigarettes, over 20% move to continue purchasing them through the illegal black market. Not only does this put all parties involved at risk of police involvement, but the illicit tobacco market is also increasingly being run by sophisticated international criminal syndicates, often with links to sex trafficking, money laundering and even, increasingly, terrorism. The US State Department has explicitly called tobacco smuggling a “threat to national security” and providing a new market of millions of Americans for criminals to supply would cause an explosion in these criminal networks.
We further note that a significant shift away from legal markets to illicit markets would also significantly reduce government revenue, both at a state and federal level. At a time when state governments are particularly struggling with the effects of the Covid-19 economic turndown, effectively diverting funds from state coffers to the hands of criminals would have negative effects on all citizens.
If the FDA wishes to reduce smoking rates, it is nowbeyond doubt that the best way of doing this is not through bans, but rather embracing life-saving new technologies to help smokers quit. The science is now overwhelming that the most effective way for smokers to quit is through the use of noncombustible reduced risk tobacco alternatives, ranging from vapor to “heat-not-burn” devices, to oral nicotine delivery systems or moist loose tobacco (which the FDA already allows to be marketed as reducing the cancer risk for persons who make the switch). These products have been proven 95% safer than smoking, between two and five times more effective than any other quit smoking technique, are particularly effective amongst disadvantaged populations, and according to Georgetown University Medical Center have the demonstrated capacity to save 6.6 million lives.
We call on the FDA to follow the Administration’s “drug policy priorities” which emphasize the importance of harm reduction, and reject the failed prohibitionist policies of the past. As such we strongly urge you to oppose this proposal which would do nothing to reduce smoking rates, but benefit only international criminal syndicates, while also being a huge step backwards for criminal justice reform and equality in the United States. Instead, the FDA should listen to calls of over 40 of the world’s leading medical bodies to engage in evidence-based policy making and embrace new technologies and alternative nicotine delivery systems that have been proven will be able to save millions of American lives.
Sincerly,
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
Steve Posciak
President
The American Consumer Institute
Christopher G. Sheeran
President
Action for Health
Lisa B. Nelson
CEO
American Legislative Exchange Council
Brent Wm. Gardner
Cheif Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity
Sarah Anderson
Director of POlicy
Freedom Works
Marty Connors
Chair
Alabama Center Right Coalition
James Taylor
President
Heartland Institute
Robert Alt
President & CEO
The Buckeye Institute
Garrett Bess
Vice President of Government Relations and Communications
Heritage Action for America
Robert Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
Mario H. Lopez
President
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Andrew F. Quinlan
President
center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jon Caldara
President
Institute for Liberty
Julie Gunlick
Director
Center for Progress and Innovation
Independent Women’s Forum
Brian Balfour
Senior Vice President of research
John Locke Foundation
Chuck Muth
President
Citizen Outreach
James Franko
President
Kansas Policy Institute
Michelle Minton
Senior Fellow
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Yael Ossowski
Deputy Director
Consumer Choice Center
Rodolfo E. Milani
Chairman
Miami Freedom Forum
Douglas Carswell
President & CEO
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Guy Bentley
Director of Consumer Freedom Research
Reason Foundation
Tim Jones
Chair
Missouri Center Right Coalition
Fmr. Speaker of the Missouri House
Mike Stenhouse
CEO
Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Robert Fellner
Vice President & Policy Director
Nevada Policy Research Institute
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
William O’Brien
Co-Chair
new Hampshire Center Right Coalition
Fmr. Speaker of the NH House
David Miller
Chair
Southwest Ohio Center Right Coalition
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protections Alliance
Grant Maloy
Cahir
Orlando Center Right Coalition
Christian N. Bruanlich
President
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
Jared Crawford
Communications Director
Pegasus Institute
Casey Given
President
Young Voices
Lorenzo Montanari
Executive Director
property Rights Alliance