Donna Shalala: “I would like to submit for the Record a letter from the leading voice of African American physicians, Dr. Louis…”

“I would like to submit for the Record a letter from the leading voice of African American physicians, Dr. Louis Sullivan, in support of the legislation. Dr. Sullivan was my predecessor at HHS. He served as Secretary from 1989 to 1993 under President Bush and is the president emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine. Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Atlanta, GA, February 26, 2020. Hon. Frank Pallone, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Pallone: I write to you today to express my strong support for H.R. 2339, Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic, and I urge its passage by the House of Representatives. There is an urgent need for action to protect the health of Americans--including the health of our young minority citizens--from the adverse health consequences of tobacco, including menthol-flavored cigarettes. For too many years, the tobacco industry has used menthol cigarettes--and now flavored cigars--to prey on minority youth and addict them to deadly tobacco products. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee found that removing menthol cigarettes from the marketplace ``would benefit public health in the United States.'' It concluded that menthol cigarettes have been disproportionately targeted at African Americans and have been disproportionately smoked by African Americans.…”