WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated 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.
The announcement is another setback for Food and Drug Administration officials, who drafted the ban and predicted it would prevent hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths over 40 years. The agency has worked toward banning menthol across multiple administrations without ever finalizing a rule.
“This decision prioritizes politics over lives, especially Black lives,” said Yolonda Richardson of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in an emailed statement. “It is especially disturbing to see the administration parrot the false claims of the tobacco industry about support from the civil rights community.”
Richardson noted that the ban is supported by groups including the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus.
Previous FDA efforts on menthol have been derailed by tobacco industry pushback or competing political priorities. With both Biden and former President Donald Trump vying for the support of Black voters, the ban's potential impact has been scrutinized by Republicans and Democrats heading into the fall election.
Anti-smoking advocates have been pushing the FDA to eliminate the flavor since the agency gained authority to regulate certain tobacco ingredients in 2009. Menthol is the only cigarette flavor that wasn’t banned under that law, a carveout negotiated by industry allies in Congress. But the law instructed the FDA to continue studying the issue.
More than 11% of U.S. adults smoke, with rates roughly even between white and Black people. But about 80% of Black smokers smoke menthol, which the FDA says masks the harshness of smoking, making it easier to start and harder to quit. Also, most teenagers who smoke cigarettes prefer menthols.
For decades, tobacco companies focused menthol advertising and promotions in Black communities, sponsoring music festivals and neighborhood events. Industry documents released via litigation also show companies viewed menthol cigarettes as a good “starter product” because they were more palatable to teens.
The FDA released its draft of the proposed ban in 2022. Officials under Biden initially targeted last August to finalize the rule. Late last year, White House officials said they would take until March to review the measure. When that deadline passed last month, several anti-smoking groups filed a lawsuit to force its release.
“We are disappointed with the action of the Biden administration, which has caved in to the scare tactics of the tobacco industry,” said Dr. Mark Mitchell of the National Medical Association, an African American physician group that is suing the administration.
Separately, Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders have warned that a menthol ban would create an illegal market for the cigarettes in Black communities and invite more confrontations with police.
The FDA and health advocates have long rejected such concerns, noting FDA’s enforcement of the rule would only apply to companies that make or sell cigarettes, not to individuals.
An FDA spokesperson said Friday the agency is still committed to banning menthol cigarettes.
“As we’ve made clear, these product standards remain at the top of our priorities,” Jim McKinney said in a statement.
Smoking can cause cancer, strokes and heart attacks and is blamed for 480,000 deaths each year in the U.S., including 45,000 among Black Americans.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products are displayed at a store in San Francisco on May 17, 2018. For the second time in recent months, President Joe Biden's administration has delayed a plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a decision that is certain to infuriate anti-smoking advocates but could avoid angering Black voters ahead of November elections. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dave Martinez was asked about the rivalry between the Nationals and Orioles — specifically, whether it's actually become much of one — and his answer was blunt.
“Honestly, no,” Washington's manager said. “It really hasn't.”
That might come as news to quite a few fans in the area — and a handful of lawyers — but what Martinez seemingly meant was despite the proximity of the franchises, there isn't a great deal of animosity when they play. As rivalries go, this one's been pretty friendly on the field.
“I got a lot of respect for what they do, and I know that they feel the same way about what we do here,” Martinez said. “We know they've got a very good young team. We've got a very good young team, playing pretty good right now. So should be fun. Fans should be excited. Two teams that are very close."
Washington's 3-0 victory over Baltimore on Tuesday night was the first of four scheduled meetings this season between the teams, separated by about 40 traffic-heavy miles. The Nationals are in their 20th season in D.C. since arriving from Montreal. That move was fought by Orioles ownership, and an agreement was reached that put both teams on the same TV station, with the Orioles having a significantly larger ownership stake in the regional sports network.
It's taken quite a bit of arbitration and litigation to determine the Nationals' telecast rights fees, but that legal wrangling through the years hasn't necessarily filtered down to the players or even the fans.
“It's kind of another game, another series that we need to go out there and win. They just happen to be next door,” Orioles left-hander John Means said. “The fact that we're not in the same division and different league in general, just makes it a little tougher to have that kind of rivalry.”
And lately, Baltimore has been managed by Brandon Hyde and Washington by Martinez. The two won a World Series together as coaches with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
“I don't have any animosity toward Davey. I love Davey. Maybe I'll start a little bit this series,” Hyde joked. “There's a lot of respect."
There were actually a couple ejections in Tuesday's game, but that was because Hyde and Orioles designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn got into it with the plate umpire — not any of their opponents.
There was one indication that this was not a run-of-the-mill game: Both teams wore their special City Connect uniforms — the first time two major league teams wore them in the same game. There were plenty of fans of both teams on hand to enjoy them.
But it's been hard for the Nationals and Orioles to establish a major rivalry, what with the teams in different leagues. Mets-Yankees in New York and Cubs-White Sox in Chicago are two examples of emotionally charged interleague battles, but the proximity between Washington and Baltimore isn't quite the same. Fans in this area can be territorial toward each other, but only sometimes.
The NHL's Washington Capitals, for example, have plenty of support in the Baltimore area — and a lot of D.C.-area baseball fans supported the Orioles before the Nationals arrived.
It might help if the Nationals and Orioles were good at the same time, but that's been rare. Both teams made the postseason in 2012, 2014 and 2016, but those are the only times it's happened, and they've never made it past the Division Series in the same year.
Perhaps that will change soon. The Orioles had the best record in the American League last year, and the same is true so far in 2024. It was no surprise that plenty of their orange-clad fans were among the announced crowd of 29,542 on Tuesday at Nationals Park for the season's first Beltway Series.
Washington lost 91 games last year, but the win Tuesday put the Nationals above .500 for the first time since July 2021.
“My first year here they were really good, and then we've both kind of gone in weird kind of directions," Hyde said. "We're still super close. I have a lot of respect — (ex-Orioles reliever) Hunter Harvey's over there too. He's a fan of a lot of people in our clubhouse. It's a friendly rivalry.”
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Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams (32) delivers against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz (20) catches the ball as Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) swings and misses during the third inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Washington Nationals second base Luis García Jr. (2) steals second base as Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jordan Westburg (11) bobbles the during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
