Black advocacy groups cheer FDA’s push to ban menthol cigarettes

Black advocacy groups expressed hope Thursday that their decades-long goal of banning menthol cigarettes is close to fruition as the Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal to ban the products.

The FDA on Thursday rolled out a proposal to ban sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and to restrict sales of flavored e-cigarette products in convenience stores. Implementation of any ban is still years away and will face significant pushback from the tobacco industry, but the news drew applause from black groups. Black health groups have battled menthol cigarettes for years, saying that tobacco companies market the products to black people in an attempt to keep them addicted.