The Washington, D.C., City Council approved a bill in a 8-5 vote Tuesday that would ban menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.
The bill's inclusion of menthol resulted in hesitancy from council members to vote yes. A vote from just a few minutes prior to recommit the legislation failed by a vote of 7-6.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, said he would have supported the bill if it left out out menthol cigarettes but banned other flavored tobacco products. He said that the council did not have enough time to look into the menthol issue, and thus, voted no on the bill.
Councilman Robert White, who also voted no, said he feared of the menthol ban creating "a black market for menthol [cigarettes], and African Americans would get the product in Maryland or Virginia.”
Council members who voted yes on the bill said they saw the issue as a public health concern disproportionately impacting black individuals. African American adults use menthol cigarettes at a higher rate than any other racial group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This is a matter of individual liberty versus public health, but on this issue, I side with public health," Councilwoman Christina Henderson said, according to the Washington Examiner.
The bill now heads to Mayor Muriel Bowser's desk but she has not said whether she plans on signing the bill into law. She has previously approved legislation to raise the smoking age to 21 and regulate electronic cigarettes the same way that traditional ones are.
In April, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would implement a ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products within the next year.
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