The Biden administration’s weak and ineffective border actions allow cartels to freely smuggle fentanyl across our southern border. And while you’d think the administration wouldn’t want to make it any easier for the cartels to enrich themselves, that’s exactly what could happen if Biden’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moves forward with its plan to ban all menthol cigarettes. The administration must stop this misguided effort.
This month, the FDA committed to banning the sale of menthol cigarettes, a third of all cigarettes sold and a $30 billion category in the US with millions of adult consumers. Banning menthol cigarettes will create a void in the market that cartels will rapidly exploit. Criminal cartels have always changed what they supply to the American public based on demand. From marijuana to cocaine, methamphetamine to fentanyl, there is no reason to think menthol cigarettes will not be the next revenue stream for cartels.
It’s well known that illicit tobacco sales already fund terrorism. Hezbollah expanded beyond drugs and into illicit tobacco due to the high profit and low risk. Hamas has also used illicit tobacco smuggling in the U.S. to fund terrorism. In 2013, authorities in New York took down a massive eastern seaboard cigarette trafficking enterprise known as “Operation Tobacco Road” with many members linked to Hamas.
Since at least 2018, The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a cartel sanctioned by the United States for its role in trafficking narcotics and fentanyl into the U.S., has been involved in the sale of tobacco products to generate a new revenue stream. The $30 billion U.S. market for menthol cigarettes would be a tempting opportunity.
Recently, five U.S. Senators wrote Treasury Department Secretary Yellen requesting sanctions on Mexican Tobacco Cartel companies, such as Tobacco International Holdings Switzerland SA (TIH), and specific individuals known to be or suspected of having ties with The Jalisco New Generation Cartel. They’re asking the U.S. Treasury department to take immediate steps to close off illicit tobacco as the new source of funding for the cartels that continue to ship fentanyl into the US. This is a good start, but more needs to be done.
Most troubling, FDA hasn’t even considered the gift a menthol ban would be to cartels. When asked about this at a recent hearing, FDA Commissioner Califf said, “I'm not aware of any study of tobacco cartels in -- in Mexico.”
FDA is already struggling to prevent a thriving illicit market for tobacco products in the U.S. Manufacturers operating under the China State Tobacco Monopoly are flooding the U.S. market with thousands of illegal e-vapor products. These products represent nearly half of the e-vapor market today, according to estimates. They come in highly flavored options and routinely top the list of products used by kids. FDA’s response to this? The Agency said slow enforcement is attributed to the fact that FDA “cannot be everywhere at all times.”
President Biden’s failed border policies have made the cartels more powerful than ever. At a time when we should be cutting off revenue sources for the cartels, another bad policy decision by this Administration will only make them richer and fuel both the humanitarian and fentanyl crisis on our border.
Rather than rushing into creating a void that the cartels can exploit, it would be prudent for the Biden administration to study the real-world impact of its prohibitionist policies. While encouraging fewer people to smoke is a worthy goal, it shouldn’t come at the expense of our national security or by enriching drug cartels.
Jobe Dickinson is the President of the Border Security Alliance and a retired law enforcement officer.
