Federal officials stressed that the ban could still be finalized this year, but public health experts said they were frustrated that a ban once debated inside the Obama administration remains under review.
Another delay is “devastating,” David Margolius, director of public health for Cleveland, wrote in a text message. About 35 percent of adults in metro Cleveland smoke cigarettes, more than three times the national average, and smoking is the No. 1 cause of death. “Year 15 of delay.”
Public health experts and civil rights groups have repeatedly urged President Biden to finalize the ban, which was originally anticipated last summer but has been opposed by the tobacco industry. Political advisers have warned that Biden could lose support by banning products popular in 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 on the market menthol products, which are smoked by about 19 million Americans. The cigarettes are disproportionately popular in the Black community — more than 80 percent of Black smokers chose menthol brands in 2020, compared with 34 percent of White smokers, according to data cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health officials have said menthol cigarettes are particularly addictive because they enhance nicotine’s effect on the brain, creating a cooling sensation that makes smoke feel 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 proof that the ban will harm Biden’s reelection prospects — and clear evidence for 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 moonshot initiative, which seeks to reduce the threat of cancer, America’s second-leading cause of death.
The planned crackdown on menthol cigarettes “would represent the most significant regulatory actions to-date to limit the death and disease toll of highly addictive and dangerous tobacco products on the market today,” the White House said in a March 2022 fact sheet. The White House last year said the planned ban could prevent as many as 654,000 deaths — including about 238,000 in the Black community — during 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 in December 2023 and missed a self-imposed deadline to finalize it in March. The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and two other anti-tobacco groups this month sued FDA over the delays, alleging that federal officials have “unreasonably and unlawfully delayed” lifesaving measures.
