The Summary
- The Biden administration proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes but never finalized it.
- The Trump administration has withdrawn the proposal, so menthol appears likely to remain in cigarettes.
- The American Lung Association is criticizing Biden s inaction, saying the ban could have saved lives.
The medical world applauded when Joe Biden’s government declared its intention to outlaw menthol cigarettes, believing it would persuade more people to give up smoking and perhaps save hundreds of thousands of lives over several decades.
In the United States, menthol is the only exemption to the prohibition on flavored cigarettes, which has been in place since 2009. Cigarettes taste better and cause less throat irritation thanks to the flavor, which might make them very addicting.
In 2021, the Biden administration expressed interest in outlawing menthol cigarettes, and the following year, it put forward a formal rule. The rule was supposed to be approved in the summer of 2023, according to public health specialists, but the deadline passed. After delaying the decision until spring 2024, the administration claimed it required even more time.
The Trump administration retracted the idea last week, and Biden departed office before the rule was finalized. It is likely that menthol will always be present in cigarettes.
The nation’s preeminent lung health organization, the American Lung Association, chastised Biden on Wednesday for the lost chance.
Thomas Carr, the association’s director of national policy, expressed his disappointment with former President Biden for caving in to pressure from the tobacco industry.
The American Lung Association stated in its annual State of Tobacco Control report, which was released on Wednesday, that Biden’s delay will lead to ongoing smoking-related deaths and illnesses, as smoking kills over 490,000 Americans annually.
Biden’s inability to complete the menthol ban is cited in the study as a clear illustration of the tobacco industry’s increased efforts at the federal and state levels to safeguard its earnings.
Biden’s office spokesperson opted not to comment. However, Biden’s health secretary, Xavier Becerra, issued the following statement last year when the administration postponed the prohibition indefinitely:
This rule has received unprecedented attention, and the public comment process has produced a wealth of criticism, including from different criminal justice and civil rights groups. It’s obvious that additional discussions need to be had, and that will require a lot more time.
The selling of menthol cigarettes is already illegal in Massachusetts, California, and Washington, D.C., and similar laws are being considered in Oregon and Washington state.
The primary objection to a menthol ban has been that it may promote the illegal sale of menthol cigarettes in communities of color, which some social justice activists claim could result in unfavorable encounters with law enforcement. As of 2020, almost 80% of Black adults who used menthol cigarettes.
According to Diane Goldstein, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a nonprofit organization that advocates for drug policy and criminal justice reforms, this ban would have been just another extension of the war on drugs, further eroding the ties with our communities that are vital to our ability to combat crime. The increasing incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses that resulted from the drug policy agenda, especially among people of color, are referenced in such analogies between the war on drugs and a menthol ban.
According to Sarah Mills, who researches racial differences in tobacco use, the tobacco industry has contributed to the notion that prohibiting menthol cigarettes will harm Black communities. According to reports from the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, Big Tobacco firms gave money to civil rights organizations or Black activists who then opposed a ban on menthol. Among the organizations that have benefited from tobacco company funding is the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
According to Mills, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was not involved in the American Lung Association report, overpolicing is a very serious issue for Black and other communities, and the tobacco industry shouldn’t be using this serious issue to further their own policy agenda.
Additionally, Mills’ study has demonstrated that menthol cigarette ads and promotions in tobacco product retailers are more prevalent in communities with a higher proportion of Black residents.
The prospect of a menthol ban became a talking point in Republican messaging during the election. Millions of dollars were set aside by the conservative nonprofit organization Building America’s Future for advertisements that criticized the ban, focusing mostly on Black voters in swing states. Democrats are targeting your menthol cigarettes, one said.
Mills bemoaned the decision to pull the proposal by the Trump administration.
According to her, this is disastrous for public health. I’m hoping that states and localities will keep enforcing local and state prohibitions.
Nonetheless, Reynolds American and Altria, two significant cigarette manufacturers, declared their support for the Trump administration’s choice.
The new administration’s recognition that prohibitionary policies are ineffective makes us happy. Reynolds American’s vice president of communications, Luis Pinto, stated in a statement that there are more efficient methods to help adult smokers quit smoking cigarettes.
According to David Sutton, a representative for Altria, making menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars illegal would have detrimental effects on public health and efforts to discourage teenage tobacco use, as well as create an illegal market.
According to Carr, the federal government could take other steps to lessen the health dangers connected with smoking if a menthol ban is not implemented. The Food and Drug Administration is urged by the American Lung Association report to complete regulations for a tracking system that would detect tobacco products that are smuggled or counterfeit. Additionally, it urges Congress to enact laws mandating that e-cigarette producers pay the FDA fees in order to support the agency’s regulatory efforts.
Citing a brief communication halt put in place by the Trump administration as part of its transition, the FDA declined to comment. Last Monday, Dr. Dorothy Fink, Trump’s acting health secretary, ordered federal health agencies to stop sending out public messages until February 1.