Several Democratic senators made the case to the president in a letter sent earlier this month.

A group of Senate Democrats on Friday called on the Biden administration to publish two final rules banning menthol-flavored cigarettes and all flavored cigars as soon as possible, amid reports the move been delayed over political concerns.

“Simply put, delays in finalizing these rules will only bring more addiction and death,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young.

The letter was signed by 22 Democrats, and was led by Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Ed Markey (Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio), all Democrats.

It was also backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the NAACP.

A potential ban on menthol cigarettes has been discussed across multiple administrations for more than a decade, but the lawmakers noted past attempts at regulation have been met with an “alarming trend of stalled action” from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

The rule was first proposed by the Biden administration in 2022. The final version was initially slated for August release but then wasn’t sent to the White House for final regulatory review until October, with the aim of releasing it by the end of the year.  

This plan is nothing more than the typical adherence to the dangerous belief that the elites in charge of the government know what’s best for everyone and should have the power to back up that belief with guns and handcuffs. However, there are several problems with this plan to save people by banning menthols.

For starters, imposing such a policy will possibly turn millions of Americans into criminals for no valid reason. It would create a black market for these products because people will seek out other ways to obtain them. Indeed, pushing menthols underground could push people to seek out more harmful avenues to obtain them.

It has been shown over and over again that prohibition does not work. The nation has plenty of evidence showing that banning a substance does not stop people from consuming it. Moreover, the notion that the government should possess the authority to throw people into jail cells for smoking or selling Newports and Kools is patently absurd.

The bottom line is that it is not the government’s place to dictate what people can and cannot consume ostensibly to protect their health. Each time the state deigns to meddle in people’s personal lives, the outcome is always worse than when the government leaves us alone.

Yes, smoking habits are a problem. But there are plenty of other ways to get people to beat their addictions. Indeed, smoking has declined considerably as more people have become educated about the dangers of tobacco. Indeed, the only thing the government has done in this regard that has been useful is to support educational campaigns to raise awareness about the issues associated with smoking.

When Gallup first asked about cigarette smoking in 1944, 41% of U.S. adults said they smoked. A decade later, a historical high of 45% was reached. From then, smoking rates gradually descended, falling permanently below 30% in 1989 and 20% in 2015.

The decline in smoking has come as more Americans likely heed the warnings about the health dangers associated with cigarette smoking and as most public places prohibit it. The survey finds 76% of U.S. adults saying cigarettes are “very harmful” to people who use them, significantly more than for other tobacco-related products like pipes and cigars, as well as other substances like marijuana and alcohol.

As it turns out, people didn’t need government bans to stop smoking. The Biden administration’s plan is nothing more than a “feel-good” policy intended to give the appearance that they are doing something to solve a problem when they are actually making the problem worse.