Last week, the CDC resumed a public-service campaign aimed at convincing smokers to quit. As far as combating smoking goes, it’s the first thing any federal agency has done right in a long time. 

The national Tips From Former Smokers campaign originally ran from 2012-2018 and resulted in over 16 million smokers trying to kick the habit. Now the campaign resumes as the White House considers a misguided proposal from the FDA to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in the U.S. 

The timing of the campaign suggests its true purpose is to gin up positive press for the ban. The fact that the campaign itself is the most effective and least harmful way to combat smoking is more of a happy accident.

Federal agencies like the FDA and CDC should spend less time trying to regulate what consumers can and can’t buy and spend more time on projects like this campaign that ensure consumers have all of the information they need to make informed decisions about their own health and habits.

The FDA’s proposed ban is well-intentioned. It seeks to protect children and Black people. 

But even if you agree with them that children and Blacks need extra protection from menthol cigarettes (some don’t), the fact remains: Bans don’t really work. They don’t keep people from smoking, and they cause a host of unintended problems, including harming the very people they intend to help. 

Bans create black markets, as anyone familiar with 1920s Prohibition knows.

When Massachusetts banned menthol cigarettes in 2020, sales of menthol cigarettes in neighboring states skyrocketed. The following year, Massachusetts lost $125 million in revenue from lost cigarette taxes. Meanwhile, smuggling was up more than 37% in the state, and cigarette sales in New England stayed the same. 

Black markets present opportunities for dangerous cartels, a fact which Republican lawmakers have already pointed out. When business is conducted in the dark, it allows the strongest, most violent actors to rise to the top. 

Furthermore, criminalizing the sale of any product consumers are likely to buy on the street can lead to an increase in negative interactions with cops. With this in mind, criminalizing a market that Blacks are more likely to engage with is unwise. That’s what led to the death of Eric Garner in 2014.

Cigarette taxes don’t really work either. At best they simply punish the poor. And the higher taxes get, the more they have the same effect as bans. It’s no coincidence that New York, which has the highest cigarette taxes in the nation, also has the highest smuggling rate. 

So how do you get people to stop smoking if bans and taxes are ultimately ineffective and problematic? You implement the tried and true strategy -- the one that has resulted in a steady decline in smoking rates for the last 60 years: You educate. 

The original Tips From Former Smokers Campaign resulted in 1 million smokers successfully kicking the habit. It didn’t tax a single poor person. It didn’t create a black market or any of the problems that come with it. All it did was empower consumers to help themselves. 

If federal agencies like the FDA and CDC really care about reducing harm from cigarettes, they should drop the bans and work harder on public service campaigns that seek to educate consumers about the true cost of smoking. 

Aaron Andrews is director of content at Young Voices, a media non-profit helping young professionals break into cultural and policy commentary. He’s based in Spokane, Washington.

Image: Picryl