Quote:Remember when the Biden administration announced that it would place a ban on menthol cigarettes? Well, it appears the White House could be close to making such a prohibition a reality.

The ban is supposedly, and racistly, intended to save black people from themselves, given that menthol cigarettes are popular among African American smokers. However, there are reasons to speculate that President Joe Biden could be slow-walking the process for political reasons.

The proposed prohibition on menthol smokes was introduced about two years ago and was met with criticism from folks on the left and the right.

The regulations, which would broadly ban the product, were first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) two years ago and have sparked a contentious debate between health advocates and civil liberties and business groups. The FDA has repeatedly missed target dates for finalizing the proposed ban, the latest of which was earlier this week.

"The FDA remains committed to issuing the tobacco product standards for menthol in cigarettes and characterizing flavors in cigars as expeditiously as possible; these rules have been submitted to the [Office of Management and Budget] for review, which is the final step in the rulemaking process," an FDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "As we’ve made clear, these product standards remain at the top of our priorities."

The spokesperson said the agency, which handed the regulations off to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final approval months ago, is limited from discussing the process further since the proposal remains pending. White House spokesperson Kelly Scully declined to comment, also noting the rulemaking process is ongoing.

But the Biden administration's continued delays in finalizing the regulations has caused angst among proponents of banning menthol cigarettes, many of whom have argued such an action is vital for achieving goals laid out in President Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative. The administration was first expected to finalize the ban in August 2023, meaning its delays have stretched more than seven months.

However, the delay, which has extended seven months past the initial August 2023 deadline, has frustrated those supporting the ban. Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said the “continued inaction is a shocking deference to the tobacco industry.”

Those opposing the ban point out a myriad of flaws. Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, said the measure "could have had far-reaching economic consequences for convenience stores by cutting 30% of sales and the livelihoods of over 600,000 workers."

Critics have also pointed out that the policy would disproportionately criminalize black Americans while creating a black market for the product.

The continual delays have also raised speculation that Biden could be stalling until after the 2024 election is over because there has been backlash from the black community, a demographic from which the president has already lost a considerable level of support.

But the issue has divided black community leaders and drawn opposition from law enforcement groups.

The Rev. Al Sharpton has come out against the ban, saying it will give police more reason to target black people, though the ban’s advocates point out that he has accepted donations from industry groups.

Gwen Carr, an activist and the mother of Eric Garner, says the ban is inconsistent and racially inequitable. About 81% of black adult smokers used menthol cigarettes in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to 34% of white adult smokers.

“Menthol has not killed anyone; it’s nicotine,” she said last year. “If you’re going to ban smoking, don’t make it a racist thing. Ban it all or ban none.”

Garner was killed in Staten Island in 2014 after New York City police officers attempted to stop him from selling single cigarettes, or “loosies,” on the black market and an officer put Garner in a chokehold. Police groups say the ban will create underground demand that they will be tasked with enforcing.

With Biden’s reelection looming in November and his support among black voters in danger, Democratic strategist TJ Rooney argues the president is right to put off the ban until next year.

“People of all race, creeds, and colors know the dangers of smoking,” he said. “My hope is that the big thinkers are equally concerned with explaining the broader picture of what’s at stake in this election. This is a great issue for 2025.”

Read: Poll: Black Voter Support for Biden Crumbling, 41 Percent Not Even Sure They'll Vote Come November

If the speculation is accurate, delaying the silly nanny-state policy is a smart political move. With Biden’s difficulties in retaining black voters, imposing a measure that would target them wouldn’t exactly help his efforts to win them over.

Of course, this does not address the real problem with this policy. If Biden wins in November, he will have no reason not to impose the ban, which, like most government policies, will cause more harm than the problems it is purported to solve.

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This entire thing reeks of such democrat casual racism the jokes just write themselves.

Black people have been hoodwinked and water is wet.

CDC, FDA Want Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars To Keep Fomenting Nicotine Misinformation Campaigns

Quote:The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently unveiled their proposed fiscal year (FY) 2025 budgets. Unsurprisingly, both agencies are requesting additional funding, through congressional appropriations and/or fees upon consumers, to address tobacco use — namely among youth.

The CDC and FDA are two of the worst agencies in the world when it comes to advancing the manufacturing of tobacco harm-reduction products. Even more appalling, they are the same agencies that, whether through inaction or campaigns, continue to drive misperceptions surrounding nicotine and the continuum of risk for various tobacco products, as well as driving forward prohibitionist policies that will lead to unintended consequences.

For FY 2025, the CDC is requesting $265 million for their ongoing tobacco control and prevention programs, which is $10 million in additional funding from FY 2023. The FDA, which is funded completely by user fees (currently applicable to only six classes of tobacco products), is requesting user fees be increased to account for inflation. The FDA is also expanding the product categories to collect user fees, including e-cigarettes.

Neither agency should be rewarded with additional funding while they fail at both informing the public of reduced-risk tobacco products and properly regulating the marketplace for adult access.

The CDC has waged a misinformation campaign against e-cigarettes under the guise of protecting children. It was a noble cause to address youth e-cigarette use several years ago, but it was after the U.S. surgeon general declared a youth vaping epidemic in December 2018 that youth use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed.

Youth vaping peaked in America in 2019 when 20 percent of middle and high school students reported currently using vapor products. This was a massive increase from 2018 when 12.9 percent of middle and high schoolers reported current e-cigarette use. Yet, since 2019, youth vaping has significantly declined. In 2020, only 13.1 percent of U.S. students were vaping. Even better, in 2023, only 7.7 percent of students were vaping. This represents a 40 percent decline from 2018 when the surgeon general first declared a vaping epidemic, and a massive 61.5 percent decrease from the year youth vaping peaked.

Interestingly, it was the FDA that first launched the “epidemic” campaign in September 2018. This came after the agency conducted ad copy testing and found the wording was effective at conveying the messaging to youth.

According to the FDA, the “scientific facts in the ‘epidemic’ campaign” include exaggerated falsehoods on debunked myths related to vaping. For example, the FDA mentions that vaping can “expose … lungs to diacetyl,” as well as releasing “dangerous chemicals into [one’s] bloodstream, like formaldehyde.”

These untruths have long been debunked. Of e-cigarette studies that found amplified harms associated with chemicals like diacetyl and formaldehyde, researchers overheated devices to unusable conditions that would never exist with real-world usage. Moreover, all studies fail to mention that cigarettes contain excessive amounts of the same chemicals but have not been linked to conditions purportedly caused by chemicals in vaping products.

After launching the youth vaping epidemic campaign, the FDA has continued to fail the millions of American adults who smoke and may be unable or unwilling to quit using traditional FDA-approved cessation methods. To date, the FDA has authorized the sale of only 23 e-cigarette products, while denying the applications of more than 26 million products used by American adults.

The failure of both agencies is apparent in the CDC’s budget request. According to the CDC, the agency failed to meet its targets for reducing both the number of cigarettes smoked and the number of adults smoking. However, it did exceed its targets for youth tobacco use.

Yet both agencies remained committed to addressing dwindling youth tobacco use. According to the FDA’s budget request, the agency will continue to “address high rates among youth” and will “prioritize e-cigarette media campaigns tailored for youth.” The CDC plans on continuing its “nicotine addiction” digital and social media ads targeted to the less than 10 percent of youth who were using e-cigarettes in 2023.

It should be noted that both the FDA and CDC are backing proposals that would actually decrease funding to the agency, including the proposed federal ban on menthol cigarettes, which was expected to be finalized in March. Evidence from existing state menthol bans, including California and Massachusetts, demonstrates that the prohibition has not significantly reduced demand, but increased costs associated with enforcement. Allowing agencies such as the FDA to ask for funding from safer alternatives to cigarettes, while essentially eliminating their funding but not demand for cigarettes, is counterproductive.

Recently, the FDA was tasked by its own oversight body to “address the calls for communication about the relative risk of tobacco products.” It’s a campaign the agency first announced seven years ago, when former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb declared the agency was “envisioning a world … where adults who still need or want nicotine can get it from alternative and less harmful sources.” Yet only 16 products have received modified risk tobacco product orders from that same agency — two of which are combustible cigarettes that offer reduced levels of nicotine.

Rather than sourcing additional funding through taxpayers and gouging the adults who use tobacco products, policymakers should examine the roles both the CDC and FDA are playing in reducing smoking rates among adults. Youth cigarette use is at levels far below the so-called vaping epidemic, and adults are increasingly using products the FDA has declared illicit, while both agencies will increase the illicit market by banning certain tobacco products. It’s time for the U.S. to embrace the commercialization of tobacco harm reduction — not reward failing regulatory bodies with additional funding.

(04-08-2024 11:31 AM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  CDC, FDA Want Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars To Keep Fomenting Nicotine Misinformation Campaigns

Quote:The CDC and FDA are two of the worst agencies in the world when it comes to advancing the manufacturing of tobacco harm-reduction products. Even more appalling, they are the same agencies that, whether through inaction or campaigns, continue to drive misperceptions surrounding nicotine and the continuum of risk for various tobacco products, as well as driving forward prohibitionist policies that will lead to unintended consequences.

Could have put the period in the first sentence after "world."

2 seconds of thought process should make the convenient and typical liberal pandering plainly obvious.
Biggest phonies on the planet.

have I ever mentioned, "it's da ______!"

g'dammed, folks are fk'n stoooooooooooooooooopid!

(04-08-2024 06:47 PM)450bench Wrote:  2 seconds of thought process should make the convenient and typical liberal pandering plainly obvious.
Biggest phonies on the planet.

it's so simple why the pubs lose and will never win again...

@>270EVsBlueBakedInn(437) and/or moo-moo-chelle (aka big mike) if all else fails by Aug. 22, 2024 ... (AM)

@MastersMonth