 On 20 May 2020, menthol cigarettes were banned in all European Union countries.Despite having left the EU in January 2020, the United Kingdom also enacted the ban.Although the use of menthol in ointments and cough drops is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States of America, regulation of cigarettes was removed from their purview in 2000 by the Supreme Court in a 5–4 ruling, "FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp." In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and ban flavor additives, although the act contained an exception for menthol.