(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes in the United States, a win for anti-tobacco and civil rights groups, but a move that could erase a huge chunk of sales for cigarette manufacturers.
The FDA is working toward issuing proposed product standards within the next year to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all characterizing flavors in cigars, the agency said.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
