Listen to this article

On Thursday, the Biden administration announced its objective to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, including menthol. The acting FDA Commissioner, Janet Woodcock issued a statement. The statement says, “Banning menthol, the last allowable flavor in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom are far more likely to use these tobacco products. Woodcock expressed the hope and belief that these bans would launch us on a trajectory toward ending tobacco-related disease and death in the country.

The US FDA referred to studies and suggested that a menthol ban would help people quit smoking. The agency said, “Menthol makes tobacco more palatable and facilitates progression to regular smoking, particularly among youth and young adults. One study suggests that banning menthol cigarettes in the US would lead an additional 923,000 smokers to quit, including 230,000 African Americans in the first 13 to 17 months after a ban goes into effect”. Public health organizations like the American Medical Association also admired the move to ban menthols for the same reasons cited by the agency. The FDA also said the data showing their disproportionate impact on the health of racial minorities and young people. At least 20 million Americans smoke menthols. Point to be noted that banning menthol cigarettes has Democratic support in Congress, too.

Senator Dick Durbin and Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Bobby Rush, recently argued the FDA has a duty to ban menthols. They informed the administration that these failures to protect children, particularly African American children, from a path to addiction are inexcusable. The House passed a bill banning all flavored e-cigarettes and menthols, but the legislation didn’t clear the Senate. This is not the first time flavored cigarettes have faced prohibition, since the FDA banned other flavored cigarettes in 2009. The bans will not be put in place immediately, since they’re subject to a potentially years-long rulemaking process and then could face legal challenges from the industry. The president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew Myers said, “It has the potential to be the strongest action our nation has ever taken to drive down the number of kids who start smoking and the number of Americans who are sickened and killed by tobacco”.