A new research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine concludes that the menthol cigarette ban in Massachusetts led to a net increase in smoking among black adults. Amid the Food and Drug Administration’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes in the United States, the new analysis by Samuel Asare, principal scientist in tobacco control research at the American Cancer Society, et al. suggests that prohibiting menthols, the cigarettes preferred by black smokers, might be counterproductive to stated public health goals and calls for better health equity.
On June 1, 2020, Massachusetts became the first state in the US to implement a comprehensive
