The Trump administration has withdrawn a proposed rule that would ban menthol in cigarettes and flavored cigars, as per the regulatory docket. This decision comes after the US Food and Drug Administration, under the Biden administration, had identified a menthol ban as a 'top priority.' The FDA had submitted the final version of the rule to the White House for approval in October 2023, with expectations of a ban that year. However, the Biden White House did not give the ban the green light following significant lobbying efforts from various stakeholder groups.
In April of the previous year, a coalition of civil rights groups and medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the FDA for missing its self-imposed deadline to ban menthol. The status of the lawsuit remains uncertain in light of the rule withdrawal.
Although the rule has been withdrawn, experts suggest that it is not entirely off the table. A future administration could potentially revive the rule while circumventing some of the procedural obstacles.
It is worth noting that all flavors in cigarettes, except menthol, were prohibited in 2009. The FDA has been deliberating on a menthol ban for over a decade, with studies indicating potential benefits in terms of both health and economic outcomes.
Research indicates that a menthol ban could lead to significant savings in healthcare costs for adult smokers over a 20-year period, amounting to approximately $1.62 billion. Furthermore, such a ban could potentially save up to 654,000 lives in the US within 40 years, including an estimated 255,000 individuals from the Black community, according to a study conducted in 2022.
