Biden Administration Indefinitely Postpones Rule That Would Ban Menthol-Flavored Cigarettes [Video]

FILE – Menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products are displayed at a store in San Francisco on May 17, 2018. Anti-smoking groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, over a long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes, which has been idling at the White House for months. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is again delaying a sweeping plan to ban menthol cigarettes.

The decision is certain to infuriate anti-smoking advocates but could avoid angering Black voters ahead of November elections.

Biden’s top health official said Friday the administration would take more time to consider feedback on the ban.

The announcement is another setback for the health officials at the Food and Drug Administration.

They drafted the ban and predicted it would prevent hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths.