WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is walking away from a plan to permanently bar menthol cigarettes, for now.
Regulators had already pushed back the ban several times amid concerns that it would unfairly target Black smokers and potentially alienate voters. Yet the regulation is heavily backed by public health groups and a number of federal health officials, who insist it is still in the works, just delayed — again.
“This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time.”
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