By Matthieu Perrone | Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Anti-tobacco groups sued the U.S. government Tuesday over a long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes that has sat dormant at the White House for months.
The lawsuit is the latest attempt to force the government to ban menthols, which are disproportionately consumed by black smokers and young people. It comes as advocates grow increasingly concerned that the federal plan could be derailed by election-year politics.
Health officials under President Joe Biden initially planned last August to issue the rule eliminating mint flavor. Late last year, White House officials said it would take until March to review the rule. Three nonprofit groups, including Action on Smoking and Health, filed their lawsuit in California federal court after the March deadline.
“As a result of Defendants’ inaction, tobacco companies have continued to use menthol cigarettes to target youth, women, and the Black community – all to the detriment of public health,” the groups state in their complaint.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration spent years developing a plan to eliminate menthol, estimating that it could prevent 300,000 to 650,000 deaths from smoking over several decades. Most of these preventable deaths are believed to be among Black Americans.
Like all major federal regulations, the plan must get final approval from the White House.
Previous FDA efforts on menthol were scuttled by reluctance from the tobacco industry or the competing policy priorities of multiple administrations. The latest delay comes as Democrats express concerns about Biden’s prospects in a rematch against former President Donald Trump.
White House officials have held dozens of meetings with groups opposed to the menthol ban, including civil rights advocates, business owners and law enforcement officials. Some have suggested that a rule targeting menthols could suppress Biden’s turnout among black voters. In almost all cases, groups opposed to the ban receive financial support from tobacco companies.
In recent months, supporters of the plan have tried to assure the White House that banning menthol would not hurt Biden’s re-election chances.
“If Black lives truly matter, then we must end the sale of menthol cigarettes and do it now,” Dr. Carol McGruder, of African American Tobacco Control Leadership, said in a statement. McGruder’s group is among those suing the FDA and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.
A lawyer who helped file the suit said the government would have about two months to respond.
A 2020 lawsuit by the same groups reignited the FDA’s work on menthol, alleging the agency had “unreasonably delayed” action on the flavor.
Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that was not banned by the 2009 law that gave the FDA authority over tobacco products, an exemption negotiated by industry lobbyists. The law, however, instructs the agency to continue to consider whether to ban menthol.
The flavor’s persistence has infuriated anti-smoking advocates, who point to research that menthol’s numbing effect masks the harshness of smoking, making it easier to start smoking and harder to quit.
More than 11% of American adults smoke, with rates roughly equal between white and black populations. About 80% of black smokers — and most teens who smoke — use menthol.
Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this story
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