Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, accuses the Biden administration of delaying the menthol cigarette ban to appease Black voters, according to Newsmax.
According to a report by Newsmax this Thursday, Carson stated that the Biden administration’s decision to delay its ban on menthol cigarettes is an attempt to appease African American voters.
The former Minister of Housing and Urban Development delved into the recent decision by White House officials to delay the comprehensive plan by the US health regulatory agency to ban menthol cigarettes during an episode of the “National Report” program.
Carson was questioned about whether this administrative decision met the satisfaction of the civil rights organizations opposing the smoking ban, as they argued that the ban unfairly targeted black communities.
“It’s hard to find a valid public health reason to delay such a ban,” Carson told the host. “When you consider that 85% of black adult smokers are menthol smokers, this is a significant figure.”
He added, “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) predicts that if the (menthol cigarettes) ban continues to be implemented, it will save the lives of one million people.”
Therefore, he stated that the Biden administration does not have any other convincing reasons for not implementing this ban.
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