BUFFALO — Committee members asked staff June 3 to prepare a resolution to ban the sale of menthol tobacco products in the city of Buffalo, but the committee tabled the item pending further input.

A council member asked staff to draft a resolution and said community groups and churches had urged the committee to act. The speaker said Roswell Park, the cancer research center, has recommended the measure could positively affect communities disproportionately harmed by tobacco-related disease.

Council Member Robinson, who said he has worked with Roswell Park for about 15 years, described menthol cigarettes as “one of the most deadliest” and urged action. Robinson and other committee members framed the proposal as a public-health measure aimed at reducing health disparities in Black and Brown communities.

Committee members also acknowledged potential legal limits and asked staff to check whether a local ban is permissible under state and federal law. One speaker said, in part, that if the law prevents a ban, the committee should be informed.

After brief public comment the committee moved to close discussion and then tabled the item; no resolution was introduced or voted on at the meeting. Several members said they expected additional proponents and opponents to appear at a future meeting.

The committee’s action leaves the request for a staff-drafted resolution open; members asked staff to prepare draft language and legal analysis before the item returns to committee.