However, White House officials have privately expressed concern that stripping menthols from shelves across the U.S. during an election year could weaken President Joe Biden’s popularity among black voters, who smoke menthol cigarettes at a disproportionally higher rate than other demographics. The FDA finalized the text of the ban last October and sent the final rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The effort is part of a broader policy of banning all flavored cigars, which the agency says would save lives. Biden, thus far, has failed to implement the policy. FDA officials are now leveraging nongovernmental contacts to pressure the White House to move forward. Robert Califf, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, is privately asking friends and public health experts to prod the Biden administration, according to unnamed sources who spoke about the matter with POLITICO. The news outlet reported that Califf is quietly saying that Biden’s support for the ban is fading, following warnings that outlawing a product popular with black smokers could hurt his support in minority communities, a critical constituency. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2020, 81 percent of non-Hispanic black adults who smoke cigarettes use menthol cigarettes, compared to 34 percent of non-Hispanic white adults. One study from 2011 shows that menthols are “no more harmful, and are potentially less harmful, than non-menthol cigarettes.” Researchers who conducted a separate study said, “We found evidence of lower cancer mortality risk among menthol smokers compared with non‐menthol smokers among smokers at ages 50 and over in the U.S. population.” Critics of the proposed ban cite similar bans that have largely failed. After the European Union banned menthol cigarettes in 2020, survey data shows that only 8 percent quit smoking, while other smokers came up with workarounds, like adding menthol flavor inserts into standard tobacco. In the United Kingdom, a black market for smuggled menthol cigarettes emerged after the ban. Given the large number of black Americans who smoke menthol cigarettes, a black market in the U.S. could potentially result in more black men and women having encounters with the criminal justice system. The anti-tobacco lobby fears that the Biden administration will sandbag the FDA rule until after the election, citing political considerations. “We’re now in a political season, and it’s only going to get tougher for them to do it,” Yolonda Richardson, CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told POLITICO. “All the delays are to the benefit of the tobacco industry. That’s just more time they have to keep them on the street, that much more time to addict kids.” Califf reportedly has received few assurances from the White House that the ban will take effect.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to implement a ban on menthol cigarettes.
