Biden administration delays ban on menthol cigarettes again amid political concerns

Federal officials stressed that the ban could still end this year, but public health experts said they were frustrated that a ban once debated within the Obama administration remains under review.

Another delay is “devastating,” David Margolius, Cleveland’s public health director, wrote in a text message. About 35 percent of adults in the Cleveland metropolitan area smoke cigarettes, more than three times the national average, and smoking is the leading cause of death. “Year 15 late.”

Public health experts and civil rights groups have repeatedly urged President Biden to end the ban, which was originally anticipated last summer but opposed by the tobacco industry. Political advisers have warned that Biden could lose support by banning products popular among the Black community, jeopardizing votes in what is expected to be a close election in November.

In 2009, Congress and the Obama administration banned other flavored cigarettes but left menthol products, which about 19 million Americans smoke, on the market. Cigarettes are disproportionately popular in the Black community: More than 80 percent of Black smokers chose menthol brands in 2020, compared to 34 percent of white smokers, according to data cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diseases. Public health officials have said that menthol cigarettes are particularly addictive because they enhance the effect of nicotine on the brain, creating a cooling sensation that makes the smoke less harsh and easier to inhale.

The Food and Drug Administration, which developed the ban, has said it remains committed to implementing the rules, pending White House approval. Outside advocates have said there is no evidence that the ban will hurt Biden’s re-election prospects, nor clear evidence of its public health benefits.

“There is absolutely no reason to further delay a policy that has been studied for more than 12 years, is supported by overwhelming scientific evidence, and will save hundreds of thousands of lives,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign. for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, in a joint statement this month. “Make no mistake: delays cost lives, especially black lives.”

Federal officials previously touted the effort as part of Biden’s cancer initiative, which seeks to reduce the threat of cancer, the second leading cause of death in the United States.

The planned crackdown on menthol cigarettes “would represent the most significant regulatory actions to date to limit the number of deaths and illnesses caused by highly addictive and dangerous tobacco products on the market today,” the White House said in a March fact sheet. 2022. Last year, the White House said the planned ban could prevent up to 654,000 deaths, including about 238,000 in the Black community, over the next four decades. The FDA finalized the ban last year and sent it to the White House for final review.

But officials delayed the ban to December 2023 and missed a self-imposed deadline to end it in March. The African American Leadership Council on Tobacco Control and two other anti-smoking groups sued the FDA this month over the delays, alleging that federal officials have “unreasonably and unlawfully delayed” life-saving measures.