Biden administration delays plans to ban menthol cigarettes
The Biden Administration has delayed plans to ban menthol cigarettes, a proposal announced by the Food and Drug Administration years ago.
The Biden Administration has delayed plans to ban menthol cigarettes, a proposal announced by the Food and Drug Administration years ago.
"There are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday.
The FDA announced its plans to ban menthol tobacco cigarettes in 2021, followed by its proposed rules for the ban in 2022. The move was aimed to improve the health of those most likely to smoke them, including kids and Black Americans.
According to the FDA, nearly 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared to just 30% of white smokers. Black men have the highest lung cancer death rate in the U.S. and both Black men and women are far less likely to be diagnosed with the disease at an early stage, when it is often more treatable, than white Americans.
The proposed ban — and now the delay — has raised questions about the effect it could have on Black voters months before a contentious presidential election.
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