FDA must respond to citizen petition to ban menthol cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must respond to a court order demanding it take a position on whether to ban menthol cigarettes. The FDA has long targeted menthol cigarettes for a regulatory crackdown amid warnings from doctors and other public health experts that the products are easier to start smoking, harder to quit and cause outsize harm to African Americans.

Now, the agency must respond by April 29 to a citizen petition — a unique regulatory tool that allows the public to request the FDA consider policy changes — demanding menthol cigarettes be banned.

See “FDA weighs ban on menthol cigarettes, which disproportionately addict — and kill — Black Americans” by Laura Reiley on the Washington Post website (April 20, 2021)