Biden officials postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback

President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a decision that is certain to infuriate anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
In a statement Friday, Biden’s top health official gave no timeline for issuing the rule, saying only that the administration would take more time to consider feedback, including from civil rights groups.
“It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The White House has held dozens of meetings in recent months with groups opposing the ban, including civil rights organizers, law enforcement officials and small business owners. Most of groups have financial ties to tobacco companies.