John,

With today’s announcement that the FDA will initiate rulemaking to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, the Biden Administration is taking truly historic action to protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity and save lives, especially among Black Americans.

The Administration’s new policy has the potential to be the strongest action our nation has ever taken to drive down the number of kids who start smoking and the number of Americans who are sickened and killed by tobacco.

It will crack down on the tobacco industry’s most pernicious tactic for luring and addicting kids – the marketing of flavored products like menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. And it will end the industry’s predatory targeting of Black communities with menthol cigarettes – a form of institutional racism that has taken a devastating toll on Black lives and health, is a major cause of health disparities, and must be stopped once and for all.

We will push the FDA to move swiftly to finalize the necessary regulations to turn this decision into action. We will also work with the Biden Administration to increase the federal government’s efforts to help smokers who want to quit and who will be motivated by this action to quit. These steps are more critical than ever because the CDC has found that smoking increases the risk of severe illness from Covid-19, which has so disproportionately impacted Black Americans and other communities of color.

Learn more about today's historic decision >>

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,