It is a half measure, yes, but a half measure in this case is better than no measure. It may disproportionately affect POC, but in a good way. Reducing the number of people that are targeted by cigarette companies is a good thing. The FDA cigarette ban was a response to a lawsuit by a black advocacy group and a few medical associations.

The FDA’s overdue response to the petition was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the National Medical Association (NMA). The plaintiffs are represented by Pollock Cohen LLP. The FDA has determined that they will ban the sale of menthol cigarettes.

The menthol cigarette ban not only targets black people, it was advocated by black people. You can read the AATCLC’s website.

On full flavor and light cigarettes, full flavor just means regular cigarette, not that it is flavored, and light cigarette means that it has holes in the filter. The only difference between the full flavor cigarette and the light cigarette is the holes in the filter that let in more air. You can put your fingers over the air holes on the light cigarette and you have created a full flavor cigarette. Alternatively you could just poke holes in the full flavor cigarette to make a light cigarette.