WASHINGTON, D.C.: In the latest effort to force the government to ban menthol cigarettes, anti-smoking groups sued the U.S. government this week over a delayed ban on the cigarettes.
Black smokers and young people disproportionately use menthols, and groups that aim to ban them have expressed concerns that election-year politics could derail the federal plan.
Three nonprofit groups, including Action on Smoking and Health, filed the lawsuit in a federal court in California.
In their complaint, the groups said, “Because 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.”
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The plan of the Food and Drug Administration to ban menthol could have prevented 300,000 to 650,000 smoking deaths over several decades, and most preventable deaths would be among Black Americans.
The plan must receive final approval from the White House.
However, the tobacco industry and competing political priorities across several administrations have scuttled plans of previous FDA plans to ban menthol, and the latest delay is due to concerns among some Democrats about Biden’s prospects in a rematch against former President Donald Trump.
White House officials have held dozens of meetings with groups opposing the menthol ban, including civil rights advocates, business owners, and law enforcement officials, who suggested that targeting menthol could suppress Biden’s turnout among Black voters.
Almost all the groups opposing the ban have received financial support from tobacco companies.
However, supporters of the ban have tried to assure the White House that banning menthol will not negatively affect Biden’s re-election chances.
In a statement, Dr. Carol McGruder from the African American Tobacco Control Leadership, which is one of the groups suing the FDA and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, said, “If Black lives truly matter, then we must end the sale of menthol cigarettes and do it now.”
More than 11 percent of U.S. adults smoke, with rates roughly even between White and Black people. Some 80 percent of Black smokers and most teenagers who smoke use menthol.
