PBS News Hour

administration to ban menthol cigarettes# ahead of an FDA deadline this weekend.

This afternoon, community leaders and public# health advocates marched toward the White House## and staged a homegoing mock funeral for the 45,000# Black lives lost to tobacco-related illnesses## every year.

But there's been a battle over whether# the administration should finally enact a ban.

Stephanie Sy has the latest.

STEPHANIE SY: The decision on# the ban has already been delayed## after it was expected to go through last summer.

White House officials are reportedly at# odds over the political im public health officials and the FDA say# a ban would save hundreds of thousands of## lives.

Menthol cigarettes are a leading# cause of death among Black Americans;## 81 percent of Black smokers use menthols,# compared to 34 percent of white smokers.

And there's a reason for that, says Keith# Wailoo, author of the book "Pushing Cool:## Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the# Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette."

Professor Wailoo, thank you# for joining the "NewsHour."

Start by giving us a sense of how# great a toll menthol cigarettes## have had on Black communities.

KEITH WAILOO, Author, "Pushing Cool:## Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the# Untold That is to say, smoking itself has exacted# cardiovascular disease, and a wide range# of other ailments across America.

The## menthol cigarette and the way in which# the industry has pitched the menthol## cigarette over the course of decades to# the Black community has also resulted## in generations of smokers initiated into# smoking who otherwise would not have been.

So, the menthol cigarette is a key tool# in the recruitment of smokers over the## course of generations.

This is really a# moment that has been long in the making.

STEPHANIE SY: The idea of a ban, though,## Professor, has come up for years.

KEITH WAILOO: Well, this moment has been# a long time in the making.

And the story## really starts in 2009, when the Food and# Drug Administration was given authority## for the first time in the nation's# history for regulating tobacco products.

Imagine that.

Only 15 years ago, the# FDA was granted jurisdiction over these## kinds of products.

In that legislation signed by# President Obama, flavored cigarettes were banned## as illegitimate enticements, particularly because# they were seen as important to youth initiation.

But menthols were exempted.

And# the question was kicked over to## the Food and Drug Administration.

And,# in some ways, what we're dealing with## is the aftermath of that decision.

The FDA has# tried twice before to move.

So, we're really at the cusp of a story that# has been playing out very, very slowly.

STEPHANIE SY: And, in the background,## isn't there a lo KEITH WAILOO: Well, that's true.

I think pa latch on to a contemporary hot-button political# issue in order to rally the public against what## most public health advocates and most citizens,# frankly, see as commonsense tobacco regulation.

STEPHANIE SY: There is an argument# on the other side of the ban,## including from prominent Black leaders,## who say that a menthol cigarette ban could# le How do you respond to that?

KEITH WAILOO: Well, I think police targeting of Black people, and they# try to wrap menthol cigarettes around it.

I really regard this argument as insincere, right,# and deceitful for a couple of reasons.

One, we## have examples of entire states like California and# Massachusetts that have banned menthol cigarettes,## have banned flavored cigarettes, and nothing# like this has resulted.

So this is part of## the big tobacco playbook to take a legitimate# issue around which there is fear, mistrust and## concern and try to connect it somehow to what the# industry sees as a lucrative, but deadly product.

STEPHANIE SY: There's also, though, a# poll making the rounds that suggest that## banning menthols could hurt President# Biden's reelection campaign during a## contentious election year.

And, ultimately,# the decision will be up to Biden, the ban.

Cornell Belcher is a Democratic# pollster who worked for President Obama.

CORNELL BELCHER, Former Obama Campaign Pollster:# There is some issue where African American voters,## particularly African American voters in# that space, look at a ban and not broader tobacco products, but particularly on# menthols, which they use disproportionately,## and go, why are we being singled# out and targeted in this way?

There's a segment of the African# American community who thinks this## could cause more harm, prohibition# could cause more harm than benefit.

STEPHANIE SY: Professor, we should note that# the poll was reportedly commissioned by Al which is a world tobacco giant, as you know.

But can you see political# considerations influencing## President Biden's decision on this ban?

KEITH WAILOO: One would hope that,# ultimately, science considerations will play a -- the majority# of a role in the administration's That said, I'm skeptical about whether the# political considerations that come by way## of a Altria-funded poll that suggests that there# may be a split in the Black community and there## may be political consequences, I'm skeptical# of those findings, partly because this is## how the industry has worked historically with# regard specifically to social science experts,## psychologists, pollsters, who helped the industry# figure out the best way to pitch an issue,## to politicize it in order to protect# a threatened and lucrative market.

STEPHANIE SY: Do you have a prediction,# Professor, for how you see things going## from here?

Do you think a ban will be# enacted under the Biden administration?

KEITH WAILOO: Well, I think that all of the# scientific and public health and indeed the## political argument is in favor of the# Biden administration following through.

I think the focus on how smokers# will respond is only one part of## the story.

It's really about moves that# you make, like banning television ads or## banning billboards or banning Joe Camel# cartoon ads.

This is another chapter in## a longstanding story to try to safeguard the# health and well-being of the American public.

STEPHANIE SY: Keith Wailoo,# author of "Pushing Cool."

Thank you so much for joining the# "NewsHour" with your insights, Professor.

KEITH WAILOO: Thank you.