On April 24, 2024, US President Biden signed a bill at the White House in Washington, USA, to provide billions of dollars in new aid for Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Elisabeth Franz | Reuters
FDA announces Biden administration delays plan to ban menthol cigarettes years ago.
“There are more conversations that need to happen, and that will take more time,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Friday.
this FDA announces plans to ban menthol tobacco cigarettes in 2021followed by Proposed Rules for the 2022 Ban. The move is aimed at improving the health of those most likely to smoke, including children and Black Americans.
according to U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationNearly 85% of black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared with only 30% of white smokers.black men have Lung cancer has the highest death rate In the United States, black men and women are much less likely to be diagnosed with the disease in its early stages than white Americans, and the disease is often easier to treat.
The proposed ban — and now the delay — raises questions about what impact it might have on Black voters just months before a contentious presidential election.
The ban has Has been postponed at least onceand Commitments enacted before the end of last year have come and gone.At that time, the White House quietly updated Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website Reflecting that a final ban on menthol won’t happen until at least March.
When implementation was delayed in December, an official with a national public health organization working to remove the products from the market told NBC News they were “deeply concerned” the ban would not take effect before the 2024 election.
“Everything is more difficult in an election year because people are distracted and bandwidth is tight,” the official said in December.
Becerra’s statement did not indicate whether or when the Biden administration would enact a ban or provide more details about conversations about the ban.
After the delay was announced Friday afternoon, anti-smoking and health advocates began voicing their frustration.
“Exactly two years after issuing a proposed rule backed by extensive scientific evidence, and more than a decade since the FDA began reviewing menthol cigarettes, the administration has failed to take decisive action to remove these deadly, addictive products from the market. Clear,” Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said in a statement. “Government inaction allows the tobacco industry to continue aggressively marketing these products and attracting and addicting new users.”
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