Menthol or mint-flavored cigarettes might soon be made unavailable in the Big Apple. The council man from Bronx sponsored this legislation and he revealed that a good number of his colleagues have expressed their desire to support. The ban of the sale of menthol-flavored and other minty-flavored tobacco cigarettes may be turned into a law.
In an interview with The Post, Fernando Cabrera said that four other members of the council have expressed their support to his proposed bill. From 29 members in the beginning, the bill has now gained 51 votes from the majority, enout to put it over the top of all the other proposed bills.
"This bill will happen and when it does, it is going to be considered as one of the biggest decisions the council will have ever done," Cabrera said. "Not only is it the right thing to do, it is also the moral thing!" He revealed, referring to the ban he is proposing.
The proposal to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes in the city has been gaining support; however, the proposal to pull out a range of flavors of e-cigarettes off the shelves as the nation is in the middle of what can be considered as a vaping crisis for it has taken at least six lives.
The bill to ban the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes was sponsored by Mark Levine, a Manhattan Democrat. The council has always had a split decision regarding this proposal. However, when council speaker Corey Johnson expressed his support for the total ban of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the entire city, it got all the boost it needs. And now, it has all the support that might just turn it into a law in the next few months.
Johnson is the one who will ultimately decide whether the proposed bill will be presented on the council floor for a vote. He also said that he is not ready to provide it a full back up as he believes that situation is a little bit tricky.
"Members of the African American community of New York City are the main consumers of menthol-flavored cigarettes," said Johnson. I have yet to decide whether he gives this legislation his full support. "If we ban menthol cigarettes in the city, it will only make their lives even more challenging as they could not smoke the type of cigarette that they want."
"My decision about this legislation isn't firm yet, but I think we are going in the right track working out the issues that some folks might have about it," he said. "I think the goal is to keep as many citizens of New York smoke-free as possible," he added.
Still, Cabrera is confident that the council speaker will eventually be bringing the bill on the floor for a vote.
