According to the Daily Mail, the Biden administration was forced to abandon plans to ban menthol cigarettes nationwide due to political pressure and the risk of angering black voters who have drifted away from the president in the polls.
The regulations are now expected to be finalized in March instead of January as originally planned.
However, Biden faces political risks on the campaign trail that outweigh the health benefits, according to surveys in more than 20 Democratic-led states, including California.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to 21 states to the White House saying now is the time to take action "to stop the sale of these flavored tobacco products, which will set the stage for reversing decades of inequality in tobacco use." Basics, saving lives.”
It is reported that some recent polls indicate that President Biden's proposed ban on menthol cigarettes may have "unintended consequences" on his vote in 2024.
In early January, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to California's menthol cigarette ban, pending a similar nationwide ban on flavored tobacco proposed by Biden. The Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit filed by R.J. Reynolds Co. challenging a ban on flavored cigarettes in Democratic-governed California.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ban in 2020 to curb the use of e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco by teens and young Americans. California is the second state to impose such a ban, after Massachusetts.
