April 26 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday

delayed a plan to ban menthol cigarettes, citing the need for

more time to review the health regulator's proposal.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the decision,

said it came after the White House weighed the potential

public-health benefits of banning the cigarettes against the

political risk of angering Black voters in an election year.

For decades, menthol cigarettes have been in the crosshairs

of anti-smoking groups who argue that they contribute to

disproportionate health burdens on Black communities and play a

role in luring young people into smoking.

"This rule has garnered historic attention and the public

comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback,

including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal

justice movement," U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra said in

a statement on Friday.

"It's clear that there are still more conversations to have,

and that will take significantly more time."

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision expected last

year to ban the cigarettes was delayed with the Biden

administration taking time to discuss the matter with several

groups.

Shares of Altria Group ( MO ) and British America Tobacco

were down marginally, while Imperial Brands ( IMBBF ) was

down about 1%. Shares in Philip Morris International ( PM ),

which does not sell cigarettes in the United States, fell 1%.

Menthol cigarettes account for a third of the industry's

overall market share in the United States.

The highly addictive products have been cited for their

appeal to young smokers, as well as significant health impacts

for Black communities.

Civil rights groups have contended for years that menthol

cigarettes pose a disproportionately higher risk in Black

communities, where they are heavily marketed.

About 81% of Black adults who smoked cigarettes used menthol

varieties, compared with 34% of white adults, according to the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi

Majumdar and Sriraj Kalluvila)