(NewsNation) — The Biden administration has delayed its plan to ban menthol cigarettes for the second time in recent months.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday that the rule has “garnered historic attention,” with officials getting an “immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement.”
“It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time,” Becerra said.
The Food and Drug Administration, which has been trying to ban menthol for decades, drafted the rule, saying it would prevent hundreds of smoking-related deaths. Menthol, the FDA had said, masks the harshness of smoking and makes it both easier to start and harder to quit.
However, previous attempts to prohibit menthol have gotten pushback from the tobacco industry and other groups.
Criminal justice organizations, for instance, say it criminalizes a product highly popular with Black smokers, NewsNation partner The Hill wrote.
While smoking rates are about even between white and Black people, with more than 11% of U.S. adults smoking, according to the Associated Press, about 80% of Black smokers use menthol. Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders have expressed concern that banning menthol would create an illegal market for it and invite confrontations with police in Black communities.
However, the FDA noted that its enforcement of the rule would only apply to cigarette companies and businesses that sell their products, not individuals.
Although health officials originally wanted to publish the rule banning menthol last August, it was put off until March after what The Hill said was fierce lobbying that “seemingly spooked” the White House.
Three anti-tobacco groups sued the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month to try and get the rule put into place.
Rep. Robin Kelly, an Illinois Democrat who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, said she was “disappointed” by reports of the White House’s plans on Friday, The Hill wrote.
“The FDA’s experts have been clear that menthol cigarettes are harmful to public health. This is a commonsense plan which could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” said Kelly. “The increased use of menthols among Black Americans has contributed to the Black community disproportionately suffering from tobacco-related diseases such as heart disease, lung cancer and strokes.”
Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, also criticized the Biden administration for postponing the rule’s implementation.
“Two full years after releasing proposed rules backed by extensive scientific evidence — and more than a decade since the FDA began examining menthol cigarettes — the administration has failed to take decisive action to remove these deadly, addictive products from the market,” The Hill quoted Brown as saying. “The administration’s inaction is enabling the tobacco industry to continue aggressively marketing these products and attracting and addicting new users.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.