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.
Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that isn t banned.
Apr 29th, 2021
This May 17, 2018 file photo shows packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco. U.S. health regulators will announce a new effort Thursday, April 29, 2021, to ban menthol cigarettes, according to an Biden administration official.
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File
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.
FDA revives effort to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars
By Kelly Hayes
The study was linked to increased levels of pain even after quitting.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it will once again try to ban menthol cigarettes, as well as all flavored cigars adding that it aims to introduce the regulations in the coming year.
The FDA has attempted several times to get rid of menthol but faced pushback from the tobacco industry, members of Congress and competing political interests in both the Obama and Trump administrations. Any menthol ban would take years to implement and will likely face legal challenges from tobacco companies.