The Food and Drug Administration has attempted several times to get rid of menthol but faced pushback from Big Tobacco, members of Congress and competing political interests in both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Menthol is the only cigarette flavour that was not banned under the 2009 law that gave the FDA authority over tobacco products, an exemption negotiated by industry lobbyists.
For decades, companies focused menthol marketing and promotions on Black communities, including sponsoring music festivals and neighbourhood events.
“There was a specific, intentional focus on creating the next generation of smokers by making menthol cigarettes available in those communities,” said Dr.
are menthol and its elimination would be a huge blow to tobacco companies, including Altria and Reynolds American, maker of the leading menthol brands, Newport and Kool.
Smoking can cause cancer, strokes and heart attacks and is blamed for 480,000 deaths each year in the U.S.
In 2011, an outside panel of FDA advisers recommended banning menthol after concluding that it increases smoking among young people and minorities and makes it harder for them to quit.