Trump administration halts FDA proposal to ban menthol cigarettes

The website for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs now shows the status of the plan to ban menthol cigarettes as “withdrawn,” noting a date of Jan. 21. Jeff Chiu/ap

The Trump administration has withdrawn the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

The Biden administration originally proposed banning the sale of menthol cigarettes in 2022. However, the Wall Street Journal reported in April the plan was scrapped in an attempt to court Black and Hispanic voters ahead of the presidential election.

A filing on the website for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs now shows the status of the plan as “withdrawn,” noting a date of Jan. 21.

House Republicans investigated the Biden administration last year over the proposed ban. Members of the House Small Business Committee argued such a move could lead to a substantial loss of income for convenience stores.

“If implemented, this rule would cause a single convenience store to lose $72,285 a year in non-tobacco sundry sales (nearly 4% of inside sales) on top of the $160,107 lost due to the reduction in sales of tobacco products,” Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, wrote. “Small operators in the convenience industry would collectively lose $2.16 billion in sales, representing $232,392 in lost sales per store.”

“Disallowing the legal sale of menthol cigarettes will only incentivize the illicit tobacco market. This is not an unsubstantiated fear; after California implemented a statewide ban on menthol cigarettes in 2022, a study found that roughly one in five cigarettes smoked were menthols even six months later, of which 27.6% were imported.”

The FDA in the final days of the Biden administration authorized the sale of Zyn nicotine pouches after an “extensive scientific review” of the product. Zyn came under scrutiny by federal lawmakers in 2024 after Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused the brand of marketing to children. The FDA said earlier this month its review found the product meets public health standards laid out in the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

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