San Leandro Considers Menthol Cigarette Ban
If you haven’t heard yet, the city is preparing to review our tobacco ordinance later this month. We are one of the few cities in Alameda County that has yet to ban the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes, which disproportionately targets and kills Black people. Now, the obvious question is: why should we bother banning menthol? People know the dangers of smoking, right? Let people make their own choices, right? I wish it were that simple... Start with the sad fact that smoking-related illnesses kill more Black people than AIDS, car crashes, and murder combined! In fact, the combination of vaping and menthol use among Black youth is renewing the cycle of addiction and death for future generations. How is this happening? Well, the tobacco industry has gone to great lengths to push menthol tobacco products into Black communities, despite knowing how deadly they can be. They’ve actually been doing this for decades. Meanwhile, they’re simultaneously spreading misinformation and fear about