Biden administration pulls back from banning menthol cigarettes

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The Biden administration is putting off its plan to ban menthol cigarettes until next March after an aggressive lobbying push by civil rights groups -- some sponsored by Big Tobacco -- who argued a ban would unfairly target Black smokers.

The delay, acknowledged in an online posting Wednesday, is a major defeat for health advocates who have been pushing for years to limit access to menthol cigarettes, which are aggressively marketed in Black communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, menthol can enhance the addictive effects of cigarettes and make it harder to quit.

"We can't reduce tobacco use and associated disease and death without eliminating menthol as a flavor. That's really the next step," said Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which represents city health departments across the country.

The Biden administration had seemed on board with restricting the sale of menthol cigarettes, with the Food and Drug Administration proposing the ban in April 2022. A final rule was supposed to be released in August. When a final rule was sent to the White House budget office this fall, advocates believed they were close to the finish line.

But in private phone calls, civil rights groups including the ACLU; the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE; and Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network warned the White House against the plan, with some officials suggesting that a regulatory crackdown could harm President Joe Biden's reelection chances with Black voters.

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