WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time in recent months, President Joe Biden‘s administration has delayed a sweeping 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. 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,” said Health and Human Service Secretary Xavier Becerra, 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. The announcement is another setback for the health officials at the Food and Drug Administration, 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 for more than a decade without ever finalizing a rule. |
US sanctions fundraisers for extremist West Bank settlers who commit violence against PalestiniansTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election, court saysTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election, court saysStevie Nicks provides poem about illCycling star Evenepoel targets June return from crash ahead of Tour de France and Paris OlympicsEmma Roberts keeps it casual in a hoodie and Dragon Ball Z tTaylor Swift 'calls out Kadarius Toney' on The Tortured Poets Department song about Travis KelceTaylor Swift leaves QR codes with secret meanings in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of the muchA former Russian tycoon who once led separatist region launches a hunger strike in Azerbaijan jailFedEx pledges $25 million over 5 years in NIL program for University of Memphis athletes