The public comment process is designed to give citizens a voice in federal rulemaking. But a new Rutgers Health analysis suggests that the extraordinary response to proposed U.S. restrictions on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars was driven largely by mass-produced form letters rather than a broad wave of individually written public opposition. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, examined all 246,808 comments submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the 2022 comment period and found that most submissions repeated language from standardized templates.
The proposed rules would have prohibited tobacco manufacturers from making and selling menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in the United States. The FDA argued that the product standards could reduce initiation, improve cessation and prevent tobacco-related disease, particularly in communities heavily targeted by menthol marketing. The agency’s proposals generated an unusually large response: 97 percent of comments submitted on the menthol rule were classified as form letters, as were 93 percent of comments on the flavored-cigar rule. Only about 2 percent of all submissions were considered unique after the researchers removed copied and near-duplicate material.
The Rutgers team used publicly available FDA docket data and statistical text-analysis software to detect repeated phrases and clusters of nearly identical wording. This process allowed the researchers to identify 17 distinct form-letter templates. Some templates appeared to have been distributed through campaigns connected to tobacco manufacturers. Approximately 46 percent of the form letters concerning menthol cigarettes contained language traceable to industry-linked initiatives, including Reynolds American’s “Own It, Voice It” campaign and Altria Group’s “Voices for Consumer Choice” campaign.
The researchers then separated the comments into two broad groups: standardized submissions and comments that contained original or substantially individualized language. After removing form letters and near-duplicates, they analyzed 3,342 unique comments about menthol cigarettes and 1,432 about flavored cigars. The distinction is technically important because a comment campaign can produce tens of thousands of submissions while representing far fewer independent viewpoints. Counting every copy as a separate expression of public opinion can therefore make the apparent intensity of opposition seem much greater than the diversity of arguments actually presented.
Even among the unique comments, opposition to the proposed rules was overwhelming. Ninety-six percent of the unique menthol comments opposed the cigarette restriction, while 99 percent of the unique cigar comments opposed the flavored-cigar restriction. However, the most common arguments were economic and regulatory rather than scientific. Commenters cited potential losses for retailers, reduced sales, damage to small businesses, fears that consumers would turn to illicit markets and the belief that education would be more effective than product restrictions. Only about 3 to 5 percent of unique comments directly addressed the scientific evidence concerning tobacco-related disease, addiction or the health effects of menthol and flavor additives.
The analysis forms part of a broader Rutgers project investigating how tobacco-industry messaging influences debates over flavored tobacco policies. In a related study, researchers examined direct-to-consumer emails sent by tobacco companies during the FDA comment period. Those messages encouraged customers to “take action” and directed them to company-operated websites. The sites allowed users to select from menus of prewritten arguments, assemble personalized letters opposing the rules and submit those letters to the FDA. Although the resulting messages could appear individualized, their underlying language was often generated from a limited set of industry-approved claims.
Another study in the same project examined 122 news articles about the proposed menthol rule. That analysis found that media coverage often presented a more balanced debate than the scientific evidence itself. Seventy-five percent of the articles mentioned the potential for a ban to reduce disease and save lives, while opposition coverage frequently emphasized concerns about increased policing in Black communities. The argument drew on the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who died during an encounter with New York police attempting to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes.
Rutgers researchers said that linking a product standard to police enforcement can create confusion about what the FDA rule would actually do. A federal tobacco product standard regulates what manufacturers may produce, distribute or sell; it does not make individual possession or use of a product a federal crime. The proposed restrictions were therefore directed primarily at the commercial supply chain rather than at consumers. Researchers argue that conflating a manufacturing and sales standard with criminal penalties could distort public understanding and amplify fears that the policy would increase police contact, particularly in Black communities.
The public-health stakes are substantial because menthol cigarettes occupy more than one-third of the U.S. cigarette market and are smoked by a majority of Black American cigarette users. Menthol produces a cooling sensation and can reduce the harshness of tobacco smoke, making inhalation easier for new users. Its sensory effects may also increase the appeal of cigarettes and contribute to dependence. Studies have found that menthol smokers can face greater difficulty quitting, with especially serious consequences for populations that have been disproportionately exposed to menthol marketing. Researchers have estimated that menthol cigarettes contributed to approximately 378,000 premature deaths in the United States between 1980 and 2018.
The FDA sent final versions of the proposed rules to the White House for review in 2023, but the Biden administration postponed a decision in April 2024 after citing unresolved concerns, including the potential social and political consequences of the menthol policy. The rules were ultimately withdrawn in January 2025. Rutgers researchers say the new findings demonstrate how the volume and apparent independence of public comments can influence policymaking even when many submissions rely on common templates or industry-developed language. They warn that delaying evidence-based tobacco controls allows preventable exposure, addiction and disease to continue, with disproportionate effects on Black communities and other groups targeted by flavored-tobacco marketing.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Public Comments and Federal Rulemaking for Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars
News Publication Date: 20-Aug-2026
Web References: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.29962; https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308116; https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article-abstract/28/8/1449/8489305
References: JAMA Network Open, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.29962
Keywords: Tobacco, menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, public health, FDA, federal rulemaking, tobacco industry, form letters, smoking cessation, health policy
Tags: analysis of public opposition to tobacco controlchallenges in public engagement on tobacco policiescommunity targeting by menthol marketingdelays in tobacco regulation implementationFDA proposed restrictions on flavored cigarshealth benefits of banning menthol cigarettesimpact of mass-produced form letters on policy commentingMenthol cigarette banpublic comment process on tobacco regulationrole of standardized templates in federal rulemakingtobacco industry influence on regulatory commentsuse of text analysis in policy research
