Big Tobacco Leans On Proven Strategy For Waging Political Warfare: Invoking Concerns Of Black Residents To Sway Dems
When it looked like New York might pass a menthol cigarette ban, tobacco lobbyists invoked Eric Garner -- a man who was killed on Staten Island by police officers enforcing cigarette regulations -- in their arguments that it would disproportionately hurt black residents. The bill was set aside.
The New York Times:
When Big Tobacco Invoked Eric Garner To Fight A Menthol Cigarette Ban
With San Francisco banning menthol cigarettes last year, and the Food and Drug Administration considering a nationwide ban, it seemed like the time was ripe for New York to follow suit. Then Reynolds American, the tobacco giant, got to work. It enlisted the Rev. Al Sharpton and his group, the National Action Network, as well as the boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party, Keith L.T. Wright, a former 12-term assemblyman from Harlem, to fight the ban proposed by the City Council. (Goodman, 7/14)
In other tobacco news —
Reuters:
U.S. Federal Judge Orders FDA To Implement 10-Month Deadline For E-Cig Applications
A U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to impose a 10-month deadline for the submission of e-cigarette applications, turning the screws on companies like Juul Labs Inc whose products have come under intense scrutiny for their popularity among teenagers. The FDA last month proposed the shorter timeline after the U.S. District Court for Maryland ruled in a lawsuit filed by anti-tobacco groups that the agency had exceeded its authority in allowing e-cigarettes to remain on the market until 2022 before companies applied for regulatory approval. (7/12)
