Commercial tobacco manufacturers have used menthol cigarettes to target vulnerable populations for decades. Nearly 9 in 10 (88.5%) African American smokers ages 12 and older use menthol cigarettes (Truth Initiative). Menthol increases the palatability of smoking, especially among youth and members of racial and ethnic populations, and menthol increases the difficulty of quitting. Yet when Congress prohibited most cigarettes with flavorings as part of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, it exempted the most important flavoring of all: menthol. This timeline marks some important moments between the passing of the Tobacco Control Act, and the proposed rules on menthol in cigarettes and all flavors in cigars issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 28, 2022.