The case against the case against menthol
Back in early December, I wrote on Twitter, “When the Biden admin inevitably does something harmful on tobacco policy, and someone tries to own me by asking if I regret urging a vote for him, my answer is going to be no. The alternative on net would have been far worse.” I stand by that, but the tweet has unfortunately become relevant sooner than I anticipated with the news that the Biden administration is likely to announce a federal ban on menthol cigarettes in the very near future.
The public health case against menthol is straightforward, but the unintended consequences of banning it are in tension with liberal concerns about excessive policing and incarceration, particularly of black communities. A ban will almost certainly spur the creation of illicit markets. With just a spray bottle and some menthol flavoring, or packs of mentholated cigarette papers, anyone will be able to enter the market for menthol cigarettes. There’s a fantasy among public health experts that the regulation will only impact big tobacco companies, but the more likely outcome is that small-time dealers and producers will be subjected to arrest and prosecution.
The ACLU and more than twenty other civil liberties and civil rights groups have come out against the ban. I also have a new piece about it at Reason. An excerpt:
Recall that Eric Garner's fatal encounter with police began with an arrest for the petty crime of selling loose cigarettes and ended with him being choked to death by a New York City cop. (Garner's mother, Gwendolyn Carr, became a vocal opponent of a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes in New York City.) And in Massachusetts, which banned menthol cigarettes in 2020, at least one illicit seller is facing prosecution amid a reportedly thriving black market. Executives at big tobacco companies might lament the loss in sales of menthol cigarettes, but the brunt of enforcement is more likely to be borne by people such as Garner, especially if a federal ban is backed by state and local measures.
Social distancing
To drink, part one: On the lighter side, my other recent article takes a look at a fun home project you can take on to welcome warmer weather. At Inside Hook I wrote about vin de pamplemousse, a homemade French aperitif typically made with white wine, fresh citrus, vodka, sugar, and assorted botanicals. It’s a great way to transform cheap wine into something far more palatable. I rescued a few past-prime bottles of rosé for this year’s batch and decanted it this week; it’s tasting far better than the wine that went into it. The process takes about a month in total but only a few minutes of actual preparation time, and you’ll be rewarded for your patience with a few liters of an aperitif to enjoy throughout the spring and summer.
To drink, part two: I’ve finally moved to a new apartment in Portland after spending much too long in my previous place. (I’d planned to move last year, but with the uncertain conditions created by the pandemic hitting right before my lease was up I was stuck needing to renew.) With the move came a mission to declutter my ridiculously large collection of spirits. I’ve been looking for new cocktails to try and revisiting dusty bottles with the aim of getting them empty and into the recycling bin.
The most recent target: nocino. Nocino is a potent liqueur flavored with green walnuts and other spices. It’s great! But it’s also the kind of thing you tend to use just a splash at a time, so it can end up lurking in your home bar for years. Flipping through a back issue of Imbibe magazine, I came across the Storm King, a cocktail from Grand Army in Brooklyn. It’s strong, spirit-forward, and complex, a boozy nightcap that’s been inching me closer to the bottom of my bottle of nocino.
2 oz blended scotch
1/2 oz nocino
1/4 oz Benedictine
3 dashes Angostura bitters
cherry, for garnish
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled coupe, and garnish with a cherry.
A favor
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