Another deadline has been missed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) bid to ban menthol flavoured cigarettes in the United States, reports Reuters.

The FDA proposed the ban back in 2022 which was met by approval by several health and anti-smoking groups. The Biden administration delayed issuing a final rule in December and has now missed the next deadline at the end of March, according to a statement on Monday from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and the NAACP. The White House has declined to comment on the matter.
Menthol cigarettes make up over 20 per cent in revenue for Altria and British American Tobacco (BAT) with the latter saying the uncertainty around the menthol ban was one factor in its decision to write down the value of some of its US cigarette brands last year, reports Reuters.
Over 100 organizations, including the NAACP, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Paediatrics, have called on President Joe Biden to stop delaying the ban.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Biden Administration appears likely to miss another deadline to issue a final FDA rule eliminating menthol cigarettes,” said Yolonda Richardson, president the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“Research shows that eliminating menthol cigarettes will reduce the number of kids who start smoking, increase the number of smokers who quit, and save up to 654,000 lives within 40 years, including 255,000 Black lives,” she said in a statement.