Gov. Hochul is objecting to a menthol cigarette ban by Buffalo Democratic colleague Eric Garner’s mom.

A prominent leader in the New York Assembly wants to crush Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push to ban menthol and other flavored cigarettes.

“I understand that the purpose of this policy is to get people to quit smoking, which is a good thing,” Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said.

“But I think it shouldn’t be so selective. This is going too far … and that would be a mistake, so I will work to get it removed,” the Democrat said during a press conference with black ministers in Buffalo on Thursday, who also opposed the Hochul ban.

It is reported by WGRZ.com in Buffalo. People-Stokes and Hochul are from Buffalo.

Meanwhile, the mother of 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after he was illegally choked by an NYPD officer during an arrest on suspicion of illegally selling bulk cigarettes in Staten Island, also opposes the ban. .

“A total ban would have unforeseen consequences and I very strongly believe that my son, Eric Garner, was the victim of a brutal and fatal confrontation with the police over the alleged sale of hard candy,” Gwen Carr told The Post.

“Educate our communities, not create new problems and criminal activity that will bring law enforcement into communities of color.”

The proposed ban divided the black community.

A large percentage of black smokers choose menthol cigarettes. Both People-Stokes and Carr are black.

But Hazel Dukes, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, backs Hole’s ban, arguing that the tobacco industry is targeting blacks with cancer-causing menthol cigarettes.

“We stopped taking money from the tobacco companies because of the higher death rate among African Americans and Browns,” Dukes previously told The Post.

Hochul also proposed raising the tax on cigarettes by $1 – from $4.35 to $5.35 per pack – to discourage smoking, the main cause of lung cancer.

Merchants who sell cigarettes and oppose the ban have welcomed the growing opposition to Hohul’s proposal.

“Prohibition will only fuel the illegal economy,” said Kent Soris, president of the New York State Convenience Stores Association.

But the governor defended the measures as life-saving, preventing young people from becoming addicted to flavored cigarettes.

“Because tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death, Governor Hochul is paving the way for a tobacco-free generation to reduce youth smoking and prevent needless deaths. As with any budget proposal, we will be working with the legislature on the final details for the best way to protect public health,” Governor’s spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hayes said in a statement.

The New York City Council tried to ban flavored tobacco in 2019 until the Reverend Al Sharpton and others objected, saying such a ban would increase black market sales and therefore lead to more confrontations with the police. This bill has stalled.