The Biden administration is delaying plans to ban menthol cigarettes

The Biden administration has postponed plans to ban menthol cigarettes, a proposal announced by the Food and Drug Administration years before.

“More discussions need to be held and this will take significantly more time,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in an announcement Friday.

The The FDA announced its plans to ban menthol tobacco cigarettes in 2021followed by its proposed rules for the ban in 2022. The move was aimed toward improving the health of those most probably to smoke, including children and black Americans.

According to the FDA, nearly 85% of black smokers use menthol cigarettes, in comparison with just 30% of white smokers. Black men have this highest mortality rate for lung cancer In the United States, black men and ladies are far less more likely to be diagnosed with the disease at an early stage, when it is usually more treatable, than white Americans.

The proposed ban — and now the delay — has raised questions on the impact it could have on Black voters months before a contentious presidential election.

The ban has already been delayed a minimum of oncewith Promises that it’s going to come into force by the top of last yr come and go. At that point, the White House quietly updated its version Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website to keep in mind that a final ban on menthol wouldn’t happen until March on the earliest.

At the time of the delay in December, an official with a national health group working to remove the products from the market told NBC News they were “deeply concerned” that the ban wouldn’t take effect before the 2024 election.

“In an election year, everything becomes more difficult because people are distracted and bandwidth is tight,” the official said in December.

Becerra's statement didn’t specify whether or when the ban can be enacted by the Biden administration, nor did it provide further details about discussions about it.

After the delay was announced Friday afternoon, anti-smoking and health advocates began voicing their frustration.

“Two full years after the release of proposed rules supported by extensive scientific evidence — and more than a decade since the FDA began testing menthol cigarettes — the government has failed to take decisive action to end these deadly, addictive drugs “To remove these products from the market,” said Nancy Brown, the CEO of the American Heart Association, in an announcement. “Government inaction allows the tobacco industry to continue to market these products aggressively, attracting and addicting new consumers.”