The withdrawal means it may be difficult for the FDA to advance the policy again.

January 27, 2025

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has withdrawn the Food & Drug Administration’s proposal that would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

The withdrawal by the Trump Administration signals that the agency will no longer advance the proposed bans. While the FDA could reverse course, this move would make it significantly more difficult. Last year, the Biden administration delayed the menthol ban, which was first proposed in 2022, in April of last year.

Two states—California and Massachusetts—have already enacted bans on the sales of menthol cigarettes and most flavored cigars. The results from these bans show that they simply do not work as intended and drive smokers to an illicit market.

In early 2024, Henry Armour, president and chief executive officer at NACS, was featured in the Washington Post with an opinion on the federal menthol ban.

Armour argued that “Prohibitions on alcohol, marijuana and other addictive products have shown that simply banning such products does not get rid of them or help the people who use them. Instead, bans drive sales underground and lead to illicit markets, leading to more sales of unregulated products. Additionally, sellers of illegal products don’t worry about verifying age the way that legal distributors, including convenience stores, do.”

“NACS appreciates the recognition of the potential problems and widespread opposition to the proposal,” NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said in response to the White House’s decision to withdraw the proposal.