The cigarettes are disproportionately used by young and minority smokers.

The action was widely expected by anti-smoking advocates, who’ve spent years pushing for a ban on menthol, the only flavor still allowed in cigarettes. Tobacco companies have typically faced lighter regulation under Republican administrations.

The Food and Drug Administration spent years studying the issue and concluded menthol’s cooling sensation makes it easier to start and harder to quit cigarettes.

The FDA was widely expected to finalize the regulation last year, but President Joe Biden’s White House delayed its release, kicking a potential political controversy out past the election. At the time, both Biden and Trump were aggressively courting Black voters in swing states.

The persistence of menthol has long infuriated health experts, who’ve been pushing for a ban since the FDA gained authority over tobacco products in 2009.