Biden administration postpones cigarette ban again

The Biden administration was expected to ban menthol cigarettes in March 2024, but as a substitute selected to postpone the choice indefinitely, sparking outrage and lawsuits from groups that had advocated for the ban on behalf of Black Americans.

As reported, the Biden administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, does he tried to clarify his decision as stemming from feedback from civil rights and criminal justice groups, but this explanation has meanwhile been rejected by anti-smoking groups as stemming from political expediency slightly than public health policy.

“There has been a lot of historical interest in this rule, and the public comment period generated a tremendous amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movements,” Becerra said in a press release. “It is clear that there are still many conversations to be had and this will take much longer.”

Illinois Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly, chair of the Health Braintrust Congressional Black Caucus, responded to the request: Biden Administration Delay in Ruling on Menthol Cigarettes with a press release to. “I am deeply disappointed that the FDA has chosen to abandon its established plan to ban menthol cigarettes,” Kelly said. “FDA experts have clearly expressed that menthol cigarettes are harmful to public health. This is a common sense plan that could save hundreds of thousands of lives.”

Thanks largely to the efforts of Big Tobacco and the promoting industry, menthol cigarettes have develop into a fixture in promoting aimed toward the black community, which has led to black people making up nearly all of menthol cigarette smokers. This also pertains to the undeniable fact that lung cancer, the style of cancer that occurred related to cigarette smokeIs probably the most common cancer affecting black men.

In February, the N.A.A.C.P reiterated its calls for a ban on menthol cigarettes after the discharge of a study that showed that black voters overwhelmingly supported the FDA’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes. In a press release, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called on the Biden administration to place people over politics.

“This new data confirms what we already know to be true – black voters want a menthol ban. It’s time for the Biden administration to put people before profits and quickly enact a policy that will save countless Black lives. We’re done waiting. The NAACP will continue to do everything in its power to hold this administration accountable to its promises to our community. Enough. Our lives are at risk.”

Also in February this 12 months The American Heart Association issued a press release including a call from two former U.S. surgeons general for the Biden administration to just accept the FDA’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes. Regina Benjamin and Jerome Adams wrote a joint column for and noted the tobacco industry’s efforts to achieve specific demographic groups. “As surgeons general under both Republican and Democratic administrations, we have consistently called attention to the enormous toll of tobacco use, highlighted the vast health disparities that continue to ravage Black and minority communities, and emphasized evidence-based measures to address reducing smoking rates and saving lives,” Benjamin and Adams wrote.

The pair concluded: “We strongly believe that in order to protect public health, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars should no longer be sold. We urge the Biden administration not to be distracted by the tobacco industry and its apologists. Instead, the administration should act in the interests of children, families and communities.”