The delay in the finalization of the ban on menthol cigarettes, announced Friday by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, is a setback for public health.   

The ban on menthol cigarettes has been in the works for over a decade. In the proposed ban, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited modeling it funded from me and other national tobacco control experts from Georgetown University and the University of Michigan. Our work showed finalizing the ban could save 650,000 deaths by 2060 through greater smoking cessation. The majority of African Americans who smoke prefer menthol cigarettes, meaning that this population disproportionately incurs disease and early death from the use of these products. A menthol ban would encourage greater smoking cessation and is an imperative step for social justice and health equity.   

The delay explained by Sec. Becerra is disappointing and highlights another step the FDA must take to improve public health: authorizing reduced-risk menthol-flavored nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, deemed to be appropriate for the protection of public health under the guiding statute. Our modeling also showed that the effectiveness of a menthol cigarette ban would be amplified significantly by the availability of less harmful mentholated nicotine products. So far, the agency has yet to authorize even a single non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette product, to the detriment of millions of people who smoke.   

It is vital that we protect youth from all products that contain nicotine. But the U.S.  must also take action to save the lives of the millions of adults who continue to smoke. Both are critical public health goals and should not be placed at odds with one another. Banning menthol cigarettes, while allowing reduced-risk alternatives onto the market, will accelerate the end of the smoking epidemic in the U.S.”