By Sriparna Roy and Juveria Tabassum
(Reuters) – The Trump administration has withdrawn a plan to ban menthol cigarettes in the US, in a setback to health regulators and activists.
In April 2022, the Food and Drug Administration proposed banning the sale of flavored and menthol cigars after several health advocacy groups said they were highly addictive and played a role in luring young people to smoke.
On January 21, a submission from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the White House agency, indicated that the proposal had been “withdrawn.”
Menthol cigarettes, which comprise a third of the industry’s total US market share, have also faced scrutiny for their disproportionate impact on the health of black communities.
“It is deeply disappointing that the final rule was not issued in a timely manner … it is more critical than ever before states and cities step up their efforts to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products,” said Yolonda Richardson, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. .
The FDA sent its final version of the regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget in October 2023, which then awaited sign-off from the Biden administration.
The White House, however, agreed to hold dozens of meetings with groups that opposed the rule, including civil rights advocates, business owners and law enforcement officials, and the administration missed December 2023 and March 2024 deadlines to pass final prohibition rule.
A ban would likely cost billions of dollars in annual revenue for cigarette companies such as Altria (NYSE: ) and British American Tobacco (NYSE: ).
“Banning menthol would encourage another large-scale illegal market for unregulated and potentially more dangerous products in the U.S., similar to the thriving market for disposable vapor products that the FDA has fought to enforce,” Reynolds American (NYSE: ), Bats’ U.S. subsidiary, said in a statement. by e-mail.
Altria declined to comment, while the FDA pointed to a temporary hiatus in public communications due to the transition to a new team.
