FDA announces move to ban menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars
Updated Apr 29, 2021;
Posted Apr 29, 2021
FILE - This May 17, 2018 file photo shows packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco.AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File
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WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. health regulators pledged again Thursday to try to ban menthol cigarettes, this time under pressure from African American groups to remove the mint flavor popular among Black smokers.
The Food and Drug Administration has attempted several times to get rid of menthol but faced pushback from Big Tobacco, members of Congress and competing political interests in both the Obama and Trump administrations. Any menthol ban will take years to implement and will likely face legal challenges from tobacco companies.
The deadline for the agency’s response was Thursday. The FDA said it aims to introduce the regulations banning the flavor in the coming year. 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, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.
The action would also ban menthol and fruity flavors from low-cost cigars, which are increasingly popular with young people, especially Black teens.
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. health regulators pledged again this morning to try to ban menthol cigarettes, this time under pressure from African-American groups to
The deadline for the agency’s response was Thursday. The FDA said it aims to introduce the regulations banning the flavor in the coming year. 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, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.
The action would also ban menthol and fruity flavors from low-cost cigars, which are increasingly popular with young people, especially Black teens.
The deadline for the agency’s response was Thursday. The FDA said it aims to introduce the regulations banning the flavor in the coming year. 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, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.
The action would also ban menthol and fruity flavors from low-cost cigars, which are increasingly popular with young people, especially Black teens.