If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is successful in its bid to ban menthol cigarettes, it will likely have many negative consequences for public health and the criminal justice system. Menthol cigarettes account for a little more than one-third of all cigarette sales. The FDA hopes banning these products would significantly reduce smoking rates and narrow health disparities. But pursuing a policy of prohibition rather than a harm reduction strategy carries many risks, as demonstrated by the previously failed prohibitions of alcohol, marijuana, and gambling.
Here are some of the common questions about banning menthol cigarettes, the supposed evidence
