The FDA is still working on rules that would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
According to CNN, the FDA said it still plans to finalize rules that would prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, but the agency is running behind schedule.
In April 2022, the FDA initially announced that it was going to ban the flavor and set a deadline of August 2023 to determine the details. The rule is still listed online, but a spokesperson told CNN it will complete work “in the coming months.”
“The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a 2022 statement.
The Food and Drug Administration said eliminating menthol cigarettes could prevent between 300,000 and 650,000 smoking deaths over 40 years. The FDA said it will work to ban menthol and other flavors like grape and strawberry from cigars.
Companies would have an additional year to phase out their products after the ban is put in place. Lawsuits could delay the prohibition, according to experts. The FDA has tried before to get rid of menthol but has faced pushback from Big Tobacco, members of Congress, and other political interests.
Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that was not prohibited under the 2009 law that gave the FDA authority over tobacco products.