Tobacco companies helped flood the federal comment process that stalled menthol cigarette ban
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in 2022, nearly 250,000 public comments flooded in—a record response that led the Biden administration to delay a final decision.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in 2022 sparked a record response with nearly 250,000 comments. However, a Rutgers Health analysis revealed that 97% of comments on the menthol rule and 93% on the cigar rule consisted of form letters, with roughly 46% of menthol form letters containing content attributed to tobacco companies.
Two percent of all comments were unique, and the sheer volume of comments was used as justification to delay the ban, according to Andrea Villanti, professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The researchers discovered that among the unique comments, 96% opposed the menthol ban and 99% opposed the cigar ban, with economic arguments like loss of revenue and fears of an illicit market being the most common.
Only 3-5% of unique comments addressed the health evidence behind the rules. The study highlights how tobacco industry influence, through organized messaging, dominated the public debate and obscured scientific evidence, leading to a delay in implementing evidence-based protections against tobacco-related harms, particularly in Black communities.
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