On April 28, 2022, the FDA proposed two rules that would work to prevent youth initiation and substantially reduce commercial tobacco-related disease and death, especially among communities that have long been targeted by the industry. The first rule would eliminate menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and the second would eliminate all characterizing flavors, including menthol, in all types of cigars. When the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) was passed in 2009, the law exempted menthol flavored cigarettes and did not regulate flavored cigars at all. This left behind and significantly impacted the health of all communities, but especially those with high usage rates of menthol, like African Americans and the LGBTQ+ community. It also created a loophole in the form of little cigars, which, from a health perspective, are indistinguishable from cigarettes except for the color of paper on the outside. In response to a lawsuit filed by public health advocacy groups, including the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, the FDA is now proposing these rules. While these rules in are in the proposed rule phase, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars can still be sold and marketed, unless prohibited by Tribal, state or local law. The rules are currently open for public comment. The FDA will take time to read public comments and will eventually issue a final rule that will establish a timeframe for when these products must be removed from store shelves. The Tobacco Control Act specifically contemplates Tribes and, as a federal law, is enforceable and enforced on Tribally-owned lands and American Indian Reservations. When these proposed rules are finalized and effective, these products will no longer be legal to sell in any U.S. state, territory, or on Tribally-owned lands and American Indian Reservations.