Biden Asks Judge to Drop Menthol Ban Suit

The Biden administration asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by anti-smoking groups demanding that it end nearly a year of delay and ban menthol cigarettes, which are used disproportionately by Blacks and younger people.

In a court filing late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the delay was not unreasonable because it had yet to determine that a ban was “appropriate for the protection of the public health.”

The FDA also said the plaintiffs had no direct stake in a ban, having alleged at most “a setback to their abstract social interests,” and therefore had no standing to sue,” according to Reuters.

It cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 13 rejection of a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to restrict access to a widely used abortion pill.

The lawsuit was filed on April 2 in the Oakland, California federal court by the American Medical Association, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, Action on Smoking and Health and the National Medical Association.

Last month, the FDA authorized four menthol NJOY products through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.

The FDA issued marketing granted orders to NJOY, an Altria subsidiary, for two pods for its Ace closed e-cigarette device, which was authorized in April of 2022, and two disposable e-cigarettes—NJOY DAILY Menthol 4.5%, and NJOY DAILY EXTRA Menthol 2.4%.