The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has withdrawn its proposed rules on flavored cigars and menthol in cigarettes. Although this action does not currently impose a ban on flavored cigars, the possibility remains for these issues to be addressed again in the future.
The FDA has been moving to ban flavored tobacco for nearly seven years. It began in 2018 with an ANPRM (Advance Notice of Public Rule Making) initiative for flavored tobacco. In 2021, the FDA announced its plans to ban “characterizing flavor” cigars and menthol in cigarettes. In 2022, the FDA issued its proposed rule-making on how it would ban flavored cigars, which was followed by a public comment period. Late in April 2024, the Biden Administration postponed the ban on menthol cigarettes. It was widely speculated this was due to the upcoming 2024 Presidential election. At the time of this announcement, there was no mention of the flavored cigar ban.
Cigar Rights of America (CRA) issued the following statement in an email: “The withdrawal of these proposed rules effectively removes them from active consideration, meaning the FDA has decided not to move forward with implementing these regulations. While this withdrawal signals a pause in the agency’s efforts, it does not preclude the possibility that similar measures could be reintroduced in the future.”
