The Trump effect - America U-turns on menthol cigarette ban

It was reported late last week that the new Trump administration has withdrawn a plan by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes in the US.

Prohibited in EU member states since 2020, menthol cigarettes have been at centre of a rather different row in America where the race card has been played by both sides.

According to the BBC in 2021 (Why the proposed US ban on menthol cigarettes is controversial):

Public health and civil rights groups have lobbied vigorously for the ban, citing the disproportionate harms of menthol cigarettes on black Americans.

Conversely:

Opponents of the ban, including black leaders like Al Sharpton, have said banning a product that is most popular among African Americans is discriminatory.

When the FDA moved to ban menthol-flavoured cigarettes in 2021 it was described as a 'major blow to the tobacco industry'. Almost four years later it's the tobacco control industry that has suffered a major blow.

According to CNN:

“The Lung Association remains deeply disappointed that President Biden did not finalize the menthol cigarette and flavored cigar rules when he could,” said Erika Sward, the assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association.

Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids also said Friday that she was deeply disappointed that the ban did not happen in a timely manner under the past administration.

Meanwhile hopes are high that another FDA plan – to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, effectively prohibiting almost every cigarette currently on the market in the US – could suffer a similar fate.

Although Trump can be a bit erratic when it comes to policy making, I would be surprised if, having rejected a ban on menthol cigarettes, he now endorsed a strict reduction in nicotine levels that would effectively ban the cigarettes he has just reprieved, and many more.

There are two other reasons why he might not support the policy.

One, like Biden's contentious pardons, it was announced at the fag end of his presidency (see 'Smoking bans: the fallback legacy for failed leaders'.

Two, and this may be complete coincidence, but it was also reported (last month) that the biggest corporate donor to Trump’s presidential campaign was RAI Services, a subsidiary of Reynolds American which 'owns the companies that control some of the most well-known tobacco brands, such as Newport, Camel, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike and Natural American Spirit'.

As I say, I'd be a fool to second guess Trump on anything, but …