WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States government on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, citing the toll on people of color and on young people.
“The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and would assist adult smokers in quitting,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement.
He added that the ban would also be an “important step toward promoting health equity” by reducing disparities in tobacco use.
The Food and Drug Administration said that removing menthol cigarettes could prevent between 300,000 and 650,000 smoking-related deaths over 40 years.
Menthol accounts for more than a third of cigarettes sold in the United States, and Black smokers and young people tend to favor the mint flavor. The cooling effect of menthol has been shown to mask the throat irritation of smoking, making it easier to start and harder to quit.
The FDA has tried repeatedly to eliminate menthol, but faced opposition from major tobacco companies, members of Congress, and competing political interests under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
The agency has faced legal pressure to issue a decision after anti-tobacco and civil rights groups sued the FDA for unjustifiably delaying action on previous requests to ban menthol.
The FDA will also seek to ban menthol and dozens of other flavors such as grape and strawberry from cigars, which are increasingly popular
