Biden administration announces it intends to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars

The Biden administration announced its intention Thursday to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, including menthol.

"Banning menthol—the last allowable flavor—in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom are far more likely to use these tobacco products," Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., said in a statement.  Woodcock expressed the hope and belief that these bans would "launch us on a trajectory toward ending tobacco-related disease and death in the U.S."