Tobacco & smokers accessories: smokers demand value, Grocery Trader, 27 July 2021, archived 15 August 2021, accessed November 2021 a b J. Gesley, European Union: Prohibition on Flavored Heated Tobacco Products Enters into Force, Law Library of Congress, 3 January 2023, accessed October 2023 This pre/post-study evaluated the EU menthol cigarette ban on smoking cessation outcomes among adult smokers in the Netherlands. Overall, we found that usual menthol use significantly decreased from pre-ban to post-ban. We also found a higher proportion of post-ban quit attempts and quitting among pre-ban menthol smokers compared with non-menthol smokers. After controlling for other factors, as compared with non-menthol smokers, menthol smokers had greater odds of making a post-ban quit attempt overall and among several subgroups, although the odds of post-ban quitting were only significant among women and among those with moderate income. In their coverage of the story, different news publications presented the evidence and rationale for the flavourings ban in very different ways. This is important because media coverage of tobacco control policies influences smokers’ support for policies, attitudes towards smoking and behaviour. Quintessential Quintessential is a Cornish family run business. They’ve been making the UK’s first and best loved smoking roach tips since the early 1990’s using various environmentally friendly papers including FSC, Recycled and 100% Pure Hemp, tree-free papers and vegetable based inks.

a b c T-A. Williams, Making a Mint: Tobacco firm accused of getting around menthol cigarette ban after launching ‘new mint-flavoured blend’ under same name, The Sun, 26 May 2020, accessed June 2020 Anderson SJ. Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents. Tob Control. 2011; 20 Suppl 2:ii20-8. Newport is one of the best-known brands of menthol cigarettes and maintained its top spot, with 6% growth among menthol styles. Marlboro gained 18.1% from 2014 to 2019 and remains second in market share among menthol styles. Tobacco companies, led by JTI and Imperial, were able to exploit the challenges of determining ‘characterising’ flavour, and the omission of cigarillos and accessories from the ban. There are early indications that this has prolonged menthol use post-ban. FDA. Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes 2013.

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Euromonitor International, Market sizes: cigarettes retail volume 2018, accessed March 2020 (paywall) Studies have found that children who smoked menthol cigarettes were more likely to become regular smokers than occasional smokers. More than half of kids who smoke use menthol cigarettes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

a b c d Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Hidden Agenda: Tobacco Industry Interference with State and Local Policy, 2022, accessed October 2022The UK did not replicate the 2023 EU ban on flavoured heated tobacco products (see below). Finland: going beyond the TPD a b c Euromonitor International, Global market share for menthol and capsule cigarettes, 2014-2020, accessed September 2020 (paywall) a b c Scottish Local Retailer/Japan Tobacco International, Making A Mint: Everything you need to know to successfully navigate the menthol ban, PDF. Source: Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) exemption for most products (as the ban was only applicable to cigarettes – factory made and roll your own) and accessories To be efficient, bans on flavoured tobacco products should prohibit menthol and other ingredients with flavour properties, as ingredients. Consequently, authorities are not placed in a position to prove whether a flavour is characterising. Banning menthol as an ingredient will also end tobacco companies’ use of menthol for its pharmacological effects. Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that even subliminal levels of menthol may decrease the harshness of tobacco smoking by making the smoke more ‘smooth’ 22 and that these properties appeal to novice smokers. 23 Other ingredients that have the potential to mask the irritating effect of tobacco smoke, such as ingredients that produce a cooling effect, should also be banned. Moreover, legislation should encompass all tobacco products to avoid the substitution of one product with another. To be comprehensive, the legislation should also prohibit flavoured tobacco accessories and filter modifications which may enable tobacco companies to circumvent the flavour ban. These recommendations should be considered in the revision of the EU TPD. The revised TPD should at least make it clear that member states may go beyond the directive provisions to protect public health.