Former US Surgeon General urges Biden administration to take action against menthol cigarettes

Regina Benjamin and Jerome Adams say governments should ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars to save lives

DALLAS, February 9, 2024 — Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, and Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, former U.S. Surgeon Generals under Democratic and Republican administrations, are calling on the Biden administration to sell menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. They are calling for a ban on the sale of. This measure will save lives in black communities and others targeted by the tobacco industry.

“As former U.S. foreign secretaries, we urge the Biden administration to immediately finalize a Food and Drug Administration rule banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars,” Benjamin and Adams wrote in their paper. A column was published in today's STAT News. “We join leaders across the country in calling on the White House to follow the science and permanently remove these dangerous products.”

Benjamin served as the 18th U.S. Surgeon General from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama.Adams finished 20th^th He served as the U.S. Surgeon General from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. Benjamin also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, celebrating 100 years of progress this year.

Last October, after studying the issue for more than a decade, the FDA sent a rule halting the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars to the White House for final regulatory review. But in December, the White House announced that the rule would be delayed. The rule has been heavily criticized by the tobacco industry and its allies.

Tobacco companies have long targeted specific populations with menthol and other flavored products.a 2022 report Papers from the Stanford Research on the Impact of Tobacco Advertising (SRITA), a research arm of Stanford Medicine, and the American Heart Association show that Big Tobacco has marketed dozens of menthol products specifically to black communities, women, and youth. The year was detailed.

Currently, more than 80% of all Black people who smoke use menthol, with higher rates of menthol use among Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and the LGBTQ+ community. Black youth are more likely to smoke cigars than cigarettes, and are more likely to smoke cigars than any other race or ethnicity.

“As surgeon generals in both Republican and Democratic administrations, we have consistently pointed out the enormous harms of tobacco use, highlighted the deep health disparities that continue to ravage Black and minority communities, and worked to reduce smoking rates. They have emphasized evidence-based measures to save lives, Benjamin and Adams wrote in a STAT News column. “To protect public health, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars should no longer be sold. I strongly believe that it is not.”

“We urge the Biden administration not to get distracted by the tobacco industry and its apologists,” the authors write. “Governments should act in the interests of children, families and communities.”

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