Senator Hirono, along with two dozen other U.S. Senators, have submitted a letter to the Office of Management and Budget expressing their concerns over the delay in finalizing a rule to cease sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes. This action comes more than a year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed such a rule.
In April 2022, the FDA suggested banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars as part of an effort to reduce the number of young people who start smoking and decrease tobacco-related diseases and deaths. According to an April 28, 2022 news release, this proposed rule was built on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009.
In that news release, Robert M. Califf, M.D., FDA Commissioner said, "The authority to adopt tobacco product standards is one of the most powerful tools Congress gave the FDA and the actions we are proposing can help significantly reduce youth initiation and increase the chances that current smokers quit. It is clear that these efforts will help save lives. Through the rulemaking process, there’s an important opportunity for the public to make their voices heard and help shape the FDA’s ongoing efforts to improve public health."
The senators expressed their concerns in a letter addressed to Shalanda Young, Director of Office of Management and Budget:
"We are extremely concerned that the rule is now expected to be released in March 2024, which is two years after the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) April 2022 announcement of the proposed rule. Likewise, we are also awaiting a final rule to ban all flavors in cigars, a proposed rule that was also announced in April 2022. The data uncovered over the last decade is more than clear. Menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars have contributed to a public health crisis, and the administration must center those impacted and finalize these rules immediately." The letter was signed by a total of 28 U.S. Senators.
In December, ABC News reported that the Biden Administration had postponed the ban until March. The report highlighted that private calls from civil rights groups had warned against the ban, arguing that it could unfairly target Black cigarette buyers and potentially harm the president’s re-election chances.