BUFFALO, N.Y. — Advocates are calling for a ban on menthol-flavored tobacco in the City of Buffalo.
The Stan Martin Consulting and its Tobacco Action Group hired an independent evaluator, Life Spring Consulting, LLC to survey residents to find out if they would support a ban.
A meeting was held Tuesday night at the Frank E. Merriweather Library to talk about the data and survey results.
The survey found strong support for the proposal from non-smokers and smokers from across the City of Buffalo, according to the group.
"The Black community here in the City of Buffalo will no longer stand idly by and watch our loved ones die from tobacco use or allow our children to become the next generation of replacement smokers," said Stan Martin, founder and CEO of SMC.
Now the group is demanding that elected officials act to save lives.
"45k African Americans die each year as a result of menthol tobacco use and in addition to that it's really essential that we remove menthol tobacco from the shelves because oftentimes when you look at the marketing strategy it has more shelf space within the retail stores," said Martin.
A proposal has been submitted to the Buffalo Common Council to ban the sale but not the possession of menthol tobacco. That could include fines against manufacturers and retailers.