US Government is Violating Black Americans’ Human Rights by Allowing the Sale of Menthol Cigarettes

When people consider the harms of cigarettes, they often think about lung cancer, secondhand smoke, or even fire safety, but very few people consider human rights violations. However, as a public health advocate and human rights lawyer, the human rights abuses are crystal clear to me.

Nine out of ten Black Americans that smoke, smoke menthol cigarettes. Black Americans are not naturally drawn to menthol; this is the result of intentional, aggressive marketing, conducted over generations, by the tobacco industry.

At long last (and after a lawsuit), the FDA has finally proposed a rule that will ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, but as a country, we are a long way from seeing that rule implemented. While corporations frequently violate human rights, it’s the duty of the government to protect its citizens from those violations. In this regard, the US has failed.

One method to hold countries accountable for human rights are UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies. The United States does not often ratify treaties, but has ratified one important one- the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Ratified treaties have the force of federal legislation- CERD is U.S. law.

This August, the U.S. is up for its review (held once every 5 years) in front of the Committee that monitors the implementation of CERD. That Committee has the power to recommend that the US move quickly and decisively to ban menthol. This would protect the right to health of Black Americans, and all Americans, and would hopefully speed up the FDA rulemaking process. 120 organizations co-signed a report to the CERD committee requesting they recommend the US accelerate its menthol ban.

The world is watching the U.S. struggle with many human rights, but tobacco, and menthol in particular, is one area with clear, impactful solutions available to protect Americans’ right to health.