HHS says proposed menthol cigarette rule to take ‘significantly more time’

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra issued the following statement on the proposed menthol cigarette rule: “This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement. It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time.” Publicly traded companies in the tobacco products space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM).