The Biden administration is preparing to soon finalize highly anticipated standards targeting menthol cigarettes, despite strong opposition from small business, civil rights, law enforcement and free-market consumer groups.
The regulations, which would broadly ban the product, were first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago and sparked a contentious debate among health advocates, civil liberties and business groups.
The FDA has repeatedly missed target dates for finalizing the proposed ban, most recently earlier this week.
“The FDA remains committed to issuing tobacco product standards for menthol in cigarettes and characterizing cigar flavors as quickly as possible; these rules have been submitted to the (Office of Management and Budget) for review, which is the final step in the rulemaking process,” an FDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “As we have made clear, these product standards remain at the top of our priorities.”
The spokesperson said the agency, which turned the regulations over to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final approval months ago, is limited in being able to discuss the process further since the proposal remains pending.
White House spokeswoman Kelly Scully declined to comment, also noting that the rulemaking process was ongoing.
But the Biden administration’s continued delays in finalizing the regulations have sparked angst among supporters of the menthol cigarette ban, many of whom have argued that such action is vital to achieving the goals outlined in the President Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” initiative.
The administration was originally expected to finalize the ban in August 2023, meaning its delays extend to more than seven months.
“This continued inaction is a shocking deference to the tobacco industry, which has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to profit from products that cause death,” said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society and its affiliate Cancer Action Network.
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Opponents of the ban expressed optimism that their plea had resonated with White House officials, potentially prompting them to reconsider the ban.
Associations representing convenience stores, police, consumers and minority groups have warned that a ban on menthol cigarettes could foster a black market while punishing small business owners and minorities who are the product’s biggest consumers.
According to OMB filings, the White House and FDA convened a series of meetings on the proposal with a wide range of stakeholders, including supporters, such as the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association, and opponents, such as the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement and National Action Network.
“The proposed ban would have the exact opposite results of those advocated by its proponents,” NACS said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We hope that the FDA reconsiders its policy in light of the evidence demonstrating that these types of bans simply do not work.”
“The proposed ban, while well-intentioned, could have had significant economic consequences for convenience stores by reducing sales and the livelihoods of more than 600,000 workers by 30%,” said Javier Palomarez, president and CEO. executive director of the US Hispanic Business Council. (USHBC).
NACS, USHBC and other opponents of regulation have pointed to data from states that have banned menthol cigarettes, saying such policies don’t work.
According to NACS, the rule would result in a reduction of $72,285 per year in sales of non-tobacco miscellaneous items and $160,107 per year in sales of tobacco products for the typical convenience store nationwide.
The organization says the convenience store industry could collectively lose $2.16 billion in sales due to the new regulations.
Minority groups like the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement and the nonprofit National Action Network, the latter founded by civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, say banning menthol cigarettes without restricting non-menthol cigarettes “puts a microscope on the issue”. minority communities. »
They say this could increase the likelihood of negative interactions between police and minorities.
The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement, the National Action Network, the National Newspaper Publishers Association and civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump met with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and the domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden to discuss the proposal in November.
The FDA first issued product standards banning menthol as a signature flavor in cigarettes and banning all signature flavors other than tobacco in cigars in April 2022.
The agency said the measure would reduce illness and death from the use of tobacco products by reducing experimentation and dependence among young people, while increasing the number of smokers who are likely to quit.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death nationwide, according to the FDA. In proposing these rules, the FDA cited Congress’ authority to adopt standards on tobacco products.
