Blumenthal Seeks To Ban Menthol Cigarettes

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: New Haven Independent

If Richard Blumenthal has his way, Sandeep Patel will stop selling his most popular type of cigarette, but a teen outside his Howard Avenue store pledged to keep smoking anyway.

Patel (pictured) was working Monday afternoon at Kav’s Package Store at 529 Howard Ave. in the Hill neighborhood.

Between selling and restocking 16-ounce cans of Natural Ice beer, Patel responded to a proposal from U.S. Sen. Blumenthal, who earlier that day called on the federal government to remove menthol cigarettes from the marketplace.

“If they’re going to take away menthol, then we’ve got nothing left to sell,” Patel said.

Read more: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/blumenthal_seeks_to_ban_menthol/id_35743

[LeftinOH]

1. Creating a black market in cigarettes is a TERRIBLE idea. n/t

[Dokkie]

2. just nice

If the unemployment isn't bad enough for the black community, a ban on menthol cigarettes sure going to bright up their day. Please just end the wars we have now before looking for another fight.

I know its a sterotype but we do like menthol cigs

[boppers]

7. Oh, I'm sure race has nothing to do with it....

:sarcasm:

FTA:
"Menthols’ popularity depends on the race of the smoker, according to the TPSAC report. Rates are highest in African-American adults: 71.9 percent of adolescent African-American smokers and 82.2 percent of adult African-American smokers choose menthol cigarettes. By contrast, 41.0 of white adolescent smokers and 21.9 of white adult smokers choose menthols."

[TheMadMonk]

8. And here in Australia menthols are quite a small part of the market.

For most "brands" menthols are only one of a line up of five or six varieties distinguished only by "mildness", and many "brands" don't include a menthol variant at all.

[joshcryer]

9. This was the *FIRST* thing I thought of.

It's not even a stereotype, it's true. Hell, I can fancy me some Newports from time to time. :hi:

[Posteritatis]

3. Nice to see the Senate has nothing else to worry about. (nt)

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. The vast majority of African American smokers, smoke menthols

[w4rma]

5. Waste. Of. Time. And. Attention. (nt)

[Imajika]

6. Does Blumenthal really have nothing better to do?

What a waste of time.

[sofa king]

10. I warned you folks about this fellow.

What did I say? Richard Blumenthal spent years delaying the federal recognition of several Indian tribes in the state, eventually winning by getting Henry Kissinger and Haley Barbour to whisper in Karl Rove's ear and kill the effort in the IBIA so that it would have to go through the conservative courts, probably breaking a dozen laws in the process.

In those cases, Connecticut, under the direction of then-AG Blumenthal, repeatedly came back to an imaginary racial definition of Indian (in federal law, tribes only need to show descent from an historical tribe, not a majority of genes), claiming oh-so-delicately that because the Indians had interbred with escaped slaves, they were no longer Indians.

So yeah, you've gone and put another Senator Palpatine there in the D column in Connecticut. And now you're gonna effin' pay for it, and so too shall the rest of us.

[Danmel]

11. Would you have preferred Linda McMahon?

[sofa king]

14. No, I would would have preferred a non-racist, non blue-dog, Democratic nominee.

Which abounds in plenty of numbers in Connecticut. But you guys let Blumenthal have the Democratic nomination, and now we all have Blumenthal, which we will all regret until he leaves.

[WatsonT]

12. Because the menthol is what kills you?

Not the tobacco?

To prevent drunk driving I'm going to ban the sale of alcohol with any sort of artificial flavoring added.

There, problem solved.

[Dokkie]

13. I think it is more like this

Most people starting smoking are more easier time adjusting to the mild and soothing smoke from menthol.