The process to possibly ban menthol cigarettes got a step closer Monday, while the move got the nod from a high-ranking politician, and the disapproval from the convenience store lobby.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the long-awaited move toward a menthol ban in April. The agency has worked on the issue since at least 2011. A 2009 law banned all flavors in cigarettes, except for tobacco and menthol.
The FDA estimated in 2019 that more than 18.5 million people aged 12 and up smoked menthols in the U.S. It recorded high rates of use by youth, young adults, African-Americans, and other racial and ethnic groups.
The FDA said banning menthol cigarettes in the U.S. would lower smoking by 15 percent nationwide in the next 40 years, and over that time, an estimated 324,000 to 654,000 smoking deaths overall and 92,000 to 238,000 African-American deaths could be avoided.
The FDA opened the proposal up for public comment in April, a necessary step in federal rule-making. The comment period was expanded by 60 days in June at the urging of lobby groups advocating for convenience stores, truck stops, and marketers of gasoline and diesel. That comment period closed, getting the move one step closer to reality, on Monday.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, told the FDA he approved the move to ban menthols in a letter this week. He said menthols are the only flavored cigarette left on the market, they “make smoking less harsh and easier to inhale,” thereby helping people — and many young people — to start smoking.
“Research has found that tobacco companies controlled the menthol levels in their cigarettes to increase brand sales among specific groups and gain market share,” Pallone said in his letter. “Even more concerning, the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted marketing of menthol cigarettes to specific populations and certain racial and ethnic groups, particularly Black Americans and young people.”
In June, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing (NACS) said banning menthols “would decimate businesses operated by hardworking men and women” who legally sell legal products. Banning menthols — or any legal product — “for consenting adults has never and will never be good policy.”
NACS said the menthol market accounts for about 34 percent of cigarette sales, and that flavored cigars account for 51 percent of cigar sales. Banning these products, the group said, will push their sales to “the illicit market.”
“History has proven that prohibition of a legal product that has an established user base doesn’t work and has negative consequences for our communities,” stated Anna Blom, NACS director of government relations. “Unfortunately, many current users of these products will seek out illicit sources who don’t check IDs and who sell counterfeit products smuggled into the country.”
