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Biden Admin Scraps Menthol Cigarette Ban Amid Fear Of 'Angering' Black Voters

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Apr 27, 2024 — 1 min read

The Biden administration has decided to scrap its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, fearing it could hurt the president's re-election chances among Black voters.

The administration was expected to announce the ban in December 2023, but it will now be delayed with no timeline for review. A previous CDC analysis estimated that banning menthol cigarettes would prevent nearly 330,000 premature deaths over 40 years.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed the administration's decision in a statement Friday, saying the potential ban "will take significantly more time."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House weighed the health impacts of the ban against the political implications of 'angering' Black voters ahead of the 2024 election. A national Republican strategist previously told the Daily Caller that the ban could "risky upsetting such a key constituency" of Biden's by banning menthol cigarettes.

GOP strategists and retired law enforcement professionals believe that the ban could cost Biden votes among Black Americans, despite Black voters overwhelmingly backing Biden in 2020.

Banning menthol cigarettes is widely unpopular in several swing states, including Georgia, North Carolina, and Nevada, according to several polls.

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