Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, along with nearly two dozen other attorneys general, has submitted a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concerning the administration's review of a proposed rule to ban menthol flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars. The letter implores the administration to promptly enact the public health regulation proposed in 2022.
The letter from the attorneys general emphasizes that these proposed rules have been long overdue. It underscores calls from civil rights and public health groups for the removal of these products from sales counters as a means to address related public health issues.
"The Department of the Attorney General urges the Biden administration to act now and prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Flavored tobacco products continue to pose significant threats to public health in Hawai‘i. Menthol cigarettes, in particular, create age, gender, and racial disparities in Hawai‘i as they are disproportionately used by youth, women, and certain ethnic groups including Filipinos, Native Hawaiians, and Japanese," said Deputy Attorney General Ashley M. Tanaka of the Department’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit.
Simultaneously with this letter from the attorneys general, Sen. Mazie Hirono joined her colleagues in urging the administration to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. A separate letter addressed to OMB Director Shalanda Young was signed by Hirono along with 27 other Senators.
"Youth who smoke are more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than older smokers, with almost half of the cigarette smokers ages 12-18 choosing to smoke menthol cigarettes. Big Tobacco has also aggressively targeted minority communities, particularly the African American community, through efforts at the point of sale, branding, and sponsorship to push these products. As a result, among individuals who smoke, nearly 85 percent of African Americans use menthol cigarettes, compared to 47.7 percent of Hispanics, 41.1 percent of Asians, and 30.3 percent of whites," the Senators wrote in their letter.
The proposed rule was published on Regulations.gov in the summer of 2022. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put forth a rule prohibiting menthol as a characterizing flavor for cigarettes after conducting scientific reviews and receiving a citizen petition, among other actions taken by the agency in developing the rule. The FDA evaluates the presence and amount of flavor additives as well as the multisensory experience of a flavor when consumed to determine the specific characterizing flavor of a tobacco product.
The rule would not criminalize consumer possession or use of menthol cigarettes and cigars but would instead focus on manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.