FDA fails to meet deadline for menthol cigarette ban.
The FDA Delays Decision on Menthol Cigarette Ban
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will be postponing its decision on whether to issue a total ban on menthol cigarettes. This decision, which was originally expected to be made by the end of August, will now be determined in the coming months.
An FDA spokesperson informed CNN about the agency’s plans, despite the fact that their website still displays the self-imposed deadline as August 2023.
Background on the Menthol Ban
In 2013, during the Obama administration, the FDA initially considered a ban on menthol tobacco products. This action was prompted by smoking opponents who had been advocating for it since 2009, when Congress exempted menthol from a ban on flavored cigarettes.
Menthol, found in cigarettes and other tobacco products, creates a cooling sensation that makes inhalation easier. It also affects the brain’s perception of taste and pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this makes it significantly more challenging to quit smoking.
Advocates of the ban argue that marketing for menthol tobacco products has disproportionately targeted minority communities. However, black social justice advocates have criticized the measure, fearing that it would lead to increased police presence and hinder illicit market activity in the black community.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, has been a prominent voice in the black community opposing the menthol ban. Garner tragically lost his life at the age of 43 when a New York City police officer choked him to death in an attempt to prevent him from selling single cigarettes, known as “loosies,” on the illicit market. The enforcement of illicit cigarettes in New York became a higher priority for the NYPD after then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg implemented punitive taxes on cigarettes to discourage smoking.
“Further delays [in a ban] will only cause more harm by allowing tobacco companies to continue marketing menthol cigarettes to Black people and harming Black youth,” stated Jesse Ehrenfeld, President of the American Medical Association. Ehrenfeld, along with the African American Tobacco Leadership Council, About Action on Smoking & Health, and National Medical Association, implored the FDA to swiftly remove these harmful products from the market and protect the nation’s youth.
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