“The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary
He added that the ban would also be an “important step to advance health equity” by reducing disparities in tobacco use.
The
Menthol accounts for more than a third of cigarettes sold in the
The FDA said it will also seek to ban menthol and dozens of other flavors like grape and strawberry from cigars, which are increasingly popular with young people, especially Black teens.
The agency’s proposals on both cigarettes and cigars are only initial drafts and are unlikely to be finalized before next year. Companies would have one additional year to phase out their products. Tobacco industry lawsuits could delay the prohibition for several more years, according to experts. For now, FDA will take comments for two months.
“Taking these products out of the legal marketplace will push them into unregulated, criminal markets,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to engage in this long-term regulatory process.”
The FDA has attempted several times to get rid of menthol but faced pushback from Big Tobacco, members of
Regulators have been under legal pressure to issue a decision after anti-smoking and civil rights groups sued the FDA for “unreasonably” delaying action on earlier requests to ban menthol.
Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that was not prohibited under the 2009 law that gave the FDA authority over tobacco products, an exemption negotiated by industry lobbyists. The act did, though, instruct the agency to continue to weigh a ban. To date, the FDA has yet to eliminate any traditional tobacco product, though it has had that authority for over a decade.
Last April, the Biden administration pledged to try to ban menthol within the year, responding in part to
“Black folks die disproportionately of heart disease, lung cancer and stroke,” said
In 2020, Gardiner’s group and several others sued to compel the FDA to make a decision on a ban.
More than 12% of Americans smoke cigarettes, with rates roughly even between white and Black populations.
In 2019, more than 18 million Americans smoked menthol cigarettes, with higher rates among young people, African Americans and other racial groups, according to the FDA. Menthol smoking declined among white teenagers between 2011 and 2018, but not among Black and Hispanic youth, the agency noted.
Thursday's proposals would not apply to electronic cigarettes, including leading brands like Juul and Vuse, which come in menthol. The FDA has been conducting a separate review of vaping products and has so far authorized a handful of tobacco-flavored products from smaller manufacturers.
The FDA made several efforts to begin eliminating menthol cigarettes under both the Obama and Trump administrations, but had never previously released a formal roadmap of how to accomplish the ban.
“This is the first time there’s been support from an administration,” said
In recent weeks, dozens of interest groups — for and against the ban — met with Biden administration officials to try and influence the proposed rule, which would wipe out billions in tobacco sales.
For decades, tobacco companies focused menthol advertising and promotions in Black communities, sponsoring music festivals and neighborhood events. Industry documents released via litigation show companies viewed menthol cigarettes as a good “starter product” because they were more palatable to teens.
Menthol’s elimination would be a huge blow to tobacco companies, including Marlboro-maker
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