FDA promises a ban on menthol cigarettes, flavored small cigars. The Daily Show has mixed feelings.

FDA vows menthols ban
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Daily Show)

The Food and Drug Administration promised Thursday to issue new regulations within a year to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and small flavored cigars, aiming to reduce smoking among Black and young Americans. The ban could take years to go into effect, following a comment period and possible legal challenges. There are "very important considerations, starting with legal considerations, about getting this right as we move forward in the rulemaking," FDA Center for Tobacco Products director Mitch Zeller said at a briefing. The FDA banned most flavored cigarettes in 2009 but exempted menthols.

The American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the NAACP welcomed the proposed ban on menthols; 85 percent of Black smokers use menthols, versus less than 30 percent of white smokers. The Daily Show's Trevor Noah welcomed it, too.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.