Trump administration withdraws FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes

By Sriparna Roy and Juveria Tabassum

(Reuters) -The Trump administration has withdrawn a plan to ban menthol cigarettes in the U.S., in a setback to health regulators and activists.

The Food and Drug Administration had in April 2022 proposed to ban the sale of flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes after several health advocacy groups said they were highly addictive, and played a role in luring young people to smoking.

A Jan. 21 filing by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a White House agency, showed the proposal has been “withdrawn”.

Menthol cigarettes, which comprise a third of the industry’s total U.S. market share, have also faced scrutiny for their disproportionate impact on the health of Black communities.

“It is deeply disappointing that a final rule was not issued in a timely manner … it is more critical than ever that states and cities step up their efforts to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products,” said Yolonda Richardson, CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The FDA sent their final version of the regulation to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget in October 2023, which then awaited a sign off from the Biden administration.

The White House, however, agreed to hold dozens of meetings with groups opposing the rule, including civil rights advocates, business owners and law enforcement officials, with the government missing deadlines in December 2023 and March 2024 to issue a final rule on the ban.

A ban would have likely cost billions of dollars in annual revenue for cigarette companies such as Altria (NYSE:) and British American Tobacco (NYSE:).

“A menthol ban would fuel yet another extensive illicit market for unregulated and potentially more dangerous products in the U.S., similar to the thriving illicit market of disposable vapor products that FDA has struggled to enforce,” said Reynolds American (NYSE:), BATS’ U.S. subsidiary in an emailed statement.

Altria declined to comment, while the FDA pointed to a temporary pause in public communications due to the transition to a new team.