A proposed ban on menthol cigarettes in the US “will take significantly more time,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday.
A coalition of civil rights and medical organizations sued the US Food and Drug Administration this month for missing its own deadline to take action on the long-awaited rule.
An administration official declined to specify further what the current timeline for a final decision might be, saying there was a need to speak with more groups and work through the concerns that have been raised. “Hard to put a timeline on that,” the official said.
Erika Sward, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, said in a statement Friday that the decision “is deeply troubling and does not reflect the science or the response from the civil rights community, including the NAACP, that these rules would save lives and prevent kids form starting to smoke. The Lung Association is deeply disturbed that President Biden has failed to do what he has promised, which is to follow the science and to reduce deaths and cancer.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
