This is a strange denial of freedom, the Federal Drug Administration is to seek to ban all menthol cigarettes. We could even describe this as distinctly racist – for there’s a certain racial divide in who enjoys menthol flavoured cigarettes and this will have a disproportionate effect upon the melanin enriched. A very odd thing to be doing in this day and age:
The Food and Drug Administration announced two major attacks on the tobacco industry Thursday, saying it will start the process to ban menthol in cigarettes and strictly limit sales of flavored e-cigarettes to youths.
The FDA’s long-deliberated moves are driven by startling new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing a 78 percent increase in vaping by high school students, with 3.6 million high school and middle school students now using e-cigarettes.
The restrictions upon vaping and e-cigarettes are simply ludicrous. We have an economic distinction between substitutes and complements. Consumption of one thing reduces the consumption of this other thing or encourages it? It’s a vital distinction to make when considering public policy. For example, as porn becomes more generally available then the rape rate declines. Porn and rape being therefore substitutes, not complements. Thus banning porn to reduce rape would be counter productive. All the evidence we’ve got tells us that e-cigarettes reduce the incidence of burning cigarette smoking especially among teens. They’re substitutes, we want to encourage the vaping rather than restrict it.
But, of course, here’s we’ve restrictions upon vaping because, well, because. Perhaps the fanatics are directing FDA policy, wouldn’t be the first time after all.
The Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration disclosed on Thursday that he’s working towards banning menthol or any flavoring in cigarettes and cigars, and tightening rules on flavored versions of e-cigarettes.
Scott Gottlieb the move is aimed at reducing smoking in people underage who choose flavored products as they start the unhealthy habit. Overall the goal is to continue the decline of smoking rates in the U.S.
Reducing access to a substitute in order to lessen incidence isn’t going to work. But that menthol thing is a little different:
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it would seek a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, putting the tobacco industry into an all-too-familiar spot: having to defend the minty smokes, which are popular among younger smokers and African-Americans.
Menthol-flavored cigarettes account for nearly a third of the roughly 250 billion cigarettes sold annually in the U.S. The industry has a long history of marketing them to blacks and in minority neighborhoods.
This has actually been part of a claim of racism in effect by the tobacco companies. Sure, menthol cigarettes are just as dangerous as other types, they kill people. But then we’re all adults around here and adults get to ingest as they wish in any free or liberal society. But, it is claimed, because menthol has that greater penetration into the black population therefore menthol is racist.
I would argue the other way around of course. That blacks smoke more menthols means that restrictions upon menthols is a racist restriction. Why should the pleasures of blacks be more restricted than those of whites? Isn’t that racist in and of itself?
I would say yes, therefore this move by the FDA to ban menthol is racist. Whereas the ban on flavoured vaping is merely stupid.
