The comments attached here were submitted to the FDA’s Menthol ANPRM docket by Multinational Business Services, Inc. MBS explained in their comments, based on the peer reviewed literature, that
In addition to harming younger people, the contraband cigarette trade also disproportionately impacts lower income and non-white citizens.
MBS concluded, in part, that the likely impacts of a menthol ban would include:
• More criminals selling cigarettes to children – contraband dealers don’t adhere to age restrictions;
• More contraband cigarettes with extreme levels of lead, cadmium and other toxics as well as potentially higher levels of nicotine; and
• More African American youth profiled, arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for selling contraband menthol cigarettes in their communities.