A new paper in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, finds that banning the sale of menthol cigarettes would likely lead to a meaningful reduction in smoking rates.

Menthol cigarettes are of public health concern because studies have found that the cooling effects of menthol mask the harshness of cigarettes, making it easier for young people to start smoking. Prior research has also found that menthol in cigarettes makes it easier for smokers to absorb nicotine, which results in greater dependence. Menthol smokers also find it harder to quit smoking compared to those who smoke non-menthol cigarettes.

Prevalence rates of menthol cigarette use among cigarette smokers vary globally. Some 7.4 per cent of smokers in Europe use menthol cigarettes. In the United States, however, some 43.4 per cent of adult smokers used menthol cigarettes in 2020.

The investigators conducted a systematic search of studies published in English up to November 2022 (using PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Embase) to discover how menthol bans change smoking behaviour. The researchers involved in this study looked at 78 prior studies, mostly from Canada, the European Union, and the United States.

The study found that the effect of menthol cigarette bans is substantial. The results show that while 50 per cent of menthol smokers switched to smoking non-menthol cigarettes, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of menthol cigarette smokers quit smoking altogether after a menthol ban.

Some 12 per cent switched to other flavoured tobacco products, and 24 per cent continued smoking menthol cigarettes. The study also found that national menthol bans appear more effective than local or state menthol bans, as quit rates were higher in places with country-wide bans.

Read the report here https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae011.

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