Lawsuit seeks to force ban on menthol cigarettes after delays

— Anti-smoking groups sued the U.S. government Tuesday over a long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes, which has been idling at the White House for months.

The lawsuit is the latest effort to force the government to ban menthols, which are disproportionately used by Black smokers and young people. It comes amid growing concerns from advocates that the federal plan could be derailed by election-year politics.

Health officials under President Joe Biden initially targeted last August to publish the rule eliminating the minty flavor. Late last year, White House officials said they would take until March to review the rule. Three nonprofit groups, including Action on Smoking and Health, filed their lawsuit in a federal court in California after the March deadline passed.

“Because of defendants’ inaction, tobacco companies have continued to use menthol cigarettes to target youth, women, and the Black community — all to the detriment of public health,” the groups state in their complaint.

A spokesperson for the White House declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has spent years developing the plan to eliminate menthol, estimating it could prevent 300,000 to 650,000 smoking deaths over several decades. Most of those preventable deaths would be among Black Americans.

Like all major federal regulations, the plan must get final approval from the White House.

Previous FDA efforts on menthol have been scuttled by tobacco industry pushback or competing political priorities across several administrations. The latest delay comes as Democrats voice worries about Biden’s prospects in a rematch against former President Donald Trump.