Tobacco companies submitted 175,000 largely duplicate comments to block FDA menthol cigarette ban

Researchers at Rutgers University analyzed the public comment period for the FDA’s 2022 proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and found that out of 175,000 submissions, 97% were form letters and only about 2% were unique.

Nearly half of the letters repeated language used in campaigns by Altria Group or Reynolds American, and the remainder echoed common industry talking points.

The practice of flooding regulators with near‑identical comments dates back to the 1980s, when the tobacco sector opposed airline smoking restrictions.

The overwhelming volume of duplicate comments is cited as a factor in the FDA’s decision to abandon the menthol ban proposal.