FDA’s plan to ban menthol cigarettes is overdue

Menthol cigarettes on a store shelf in 2020. The FDA’s move to finally ban menthol-flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars is overdue. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Food and Drug Administration last month finally moved forward with an official proposal to ban menthol cigarettes, a significant and long-overdue move we support to help save lives.

The more steps taken to encourage smokers to quit, the better. The U.S. banned other flavored cigarettes in 2009 but gave menthol an exception in a move that riled anti-smoking and public health advocates.