The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its plan to ban menthol respiratory-health and flavored cigars on Thursday, saying the actions have the potential to significantly reduce disease and death.
“The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Additionally, the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities.”
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The rules, the FDA said, build on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act and are also a critical component of the joe-biden” target=”_blank”>Biden administration’s<.
Last April, the Biden administration pledged to try to ban menthol within the year.
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The FDA noted that it cannot and will not enforce against individual consumers for the possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars.
Should the rules be finalized and implemented, FDA enforcement will only address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers who manufacture, distribute or sell such products within the U.S. that are not in compliance with applicable requirements.
Notably, state and local law enforcement agencies do not independently enforce the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and do not – and cannot – take enforcement actions against any violation of FDA’s tobacco authorities, including its regulations, on the FDA’s behalf.
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“The authority to adopt tobacco product standards is one of the most powerful tools Congress gave the FDA, and the actions we are proposing can help significantly reduce youth initiation and increase the chances that current smokers quit. It is clear that these efforts will help save lives,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said. “Through the rulemaking process, there’s an important opportunity for the public to make their voices heard and help shape the FDA’s ongoing efforts to improve public health.”
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Menthol’s elimination would be a blow to tobacco companies and previous efforts have met resistance from Big Tobacco, members of Congress and competing political interests under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
The FDA has been under legal pressure to issue a decision after anti-smoking and civil rights groups sued the administration for “unreasonably” delaying action on earlier requests to ban menthol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
