The menthol in cigarettes masks the unpleasant taste and scent of burnt tobacco and smoke which makes you smoke more. A ban on menthol cigarettes is being implemented in the USA in the upcoming months. The menthol cigarette ban is a great victory for anti-tobacco interest groups. This article will give you insight into the menthol cigarette ban and why the menthol cigarette ban dates are important and effective.
Why Are Menthol Cigarettes Banned?
Menthol cigarettes are banned because of these reasons:
- Larger inhales: People who smoke menthol cigs breathe in more smoke which means more harm to the body.
- Taste attraction: The taste of menthol cigarettes is appetizing and masks the unpleasant scent of burnt tobacco which makes cigarettes more attractive to users.
- Deceptive safety: The menthol masks the unpleasant taste of burnt tobacco and smoke and makes cigarettes seem more harmless than they actually are.
- Gateway deception: Teenagers are attracted to menthol taste which makes them want to try cigarettes more, when you start smoking early it is harder to quit and damage to health has a larger impact (developing brain) than in the later years.
Read on to find out whether menthol cigarettes are banned in all countries.
Are Menthol Cigarettes Banned in All Countries?
No, menthol cigarettes are not banned in all countries. Menthol cigarettes are banned in the European Union. FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) is implementing the menthol cigarette ban in the USA in the upcoming months, it was supposed to start in August 2023.
Read on to find out in which countries menthol cigs are banned.
In Which Countries Menthol Cigarettes are Banned?
Menthol cigarettes are banned in the following countries:
- Canada:2015-2018, all Canadian provinces banned menthol cigarettes.
- Brazil: In 2012, a complete ban on menthol cigarettes (first country) but it has not yet been implemented in reality.
- Ethiopia: 2015, a complete ban of menthol cigarettes.
- Turkey: 2022, a complete ban on menthol cigarettes, but you can buy a new product, a menthol ball, and inject it into cigarettes to experience the menthol flavor (clever loophole).
- Moldova: 2020 implemented (2015 accepted), a complete ban on menthol and other flavored cigarettes.
- The European Union: 2020, a complete ban of menthol cigarettes.
- The United Kingdom: 2020, a complete ban of menthol cigarettes.
Read on to find out more specific details about the menthol cigarette ban.
When did the Ban on Menthol Cigarettes Start?
The ban on menthol cigarettes got its first bush by law signed by President Barack Obama in 2009 (the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act). The FDA (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration) first announced in April 2022, that it was going to ban the menthol flavor, it set a deadline of August 2023 to work out the details. At the moment the menthol cigarette ban date should be in the upcoming months.
Read on to find out about the directive for tobacco products.
What is the Directive for Tobacco Products?
The Tobacco Product Directive is a directive of the European Union that places limits on the sale and merchandising of tobacco and tobacco-related products in the EU. It places a ban on menthol cigarettes and other flavored cigarettes. It states that warnings on cigarette packets need to be bigger and more noticeable.
In the USA there is not one directive for tobacco products but it consists of several different national and local legislations. The primary federal legislation regulating tobacco products is the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama in 2009. This law gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products. The main points of this law were that the FDA took control, tobacco manufacturers had to let the FDA know what ingredients are in their products, and the menthol cigarette threat needed to be researched more carefully this eventually led to a ban on menthol cigarettes that should come into life in the next months according to the FDA.
Read on to find out what impacted the decision to ban menthol cigarettes.
What are Evidences that Made the Decision of Banning Menthol Cigarettes?
The pieces of evidence that decided to ban menthol cigarettes were:
- A research paper “Evaluating the impact of menthol cigarette bans on cessation and smoking behaviors in Canada: longitudinal findings from the Canadian arm of the 2016–2018 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys” found that banning menthol cigarettes in the United States of America would make 923,000 smokers quit.
- A research paper “Modeling the Future Effects of a Menthol Ban on Smoking Prevalence and Smoking-Attributable Deaths in the United States” showcased that about 633,000 deaths would be averted with the ban on menthol cigarettes.
- An independent advisory committee as required by the TCA was brought together to advise the FDA (the USA Food and Drug Administration) on the matter and their advice was to ban menthol and anything that could be used as a substitute to menthol to avoid problems in the future.
Read on to learn what ENSP is.
What is ENSP?
ENSP is The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention. ENSP is an international non-profit organization, created in 1997 in Belgium. ENSP wishes to create greater coherence among smoking prevention activities and to promote comprehensive tobacco control policies at both national and European levels. In short, ENSP hopes to create similar rules and principles to fight tobacco products.
Read on to find out more specifically about ENSP monitoring Tobacco manufacturing.
How does ENSP Monitor Tobacco Manufacturing Activities?
ENSP (The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention) does not monitor tobacco manufacturing activities, it is an advising organization. It collaborates with different level stakeholders (national, EU level) and gives advice on the rules and regulations that those levels put in place. ENSP also advises monitors and educates consumers and tobacco manufacturing companies on how to protect people from the harm of tobacco and nicotine. The goal of ENSP is to eventually have a nicotine-free generation in Europe.
Read on to find out how tobacco content in a menthol cigarette differs from a normal cigarette.
How Does the Tobacco Content of a Menthol Cigarette Compare to a Regular Cigarette?
The tobacco content of normal and menthol cigarettes is the same. The difference is that menthol masks the harshness of tobacco and makes it seem milder. So, menthol content only changes the perceived strength of the cigarette, in reality, tobacco and nicotine content stays the same. In addition, menthol cigarettes make it easier for you to take longer and bigger breaths from the cigarettes which makes you consume more harmful substances.
Read on to find out how menthol cigarettes appeal to younger consumers.
How do Menthol Cigarettes Appeal to the Younger Consumers?
Menthol cigarettes appeal to younger consumers because of their pleasant taste and scent. Burnt tobacco and smoke from a normal cigarette have an unpleasant taste and scent that is not attractive. Menthol cigarettes smell good and taste nicer which is why younger consumers are attracted to menthol cigarettes. They are also more willing to try menthol cigarettes than normal cigarettes. This is why menthol cigarettes are the perfect gateway drug to nicotine products.
Read on to find out if menthol cigarettes are more addictive.
Are Menthol Cigarettes More Addictive?
Yes, menthol cigarettes are more addictive than normal cigarettes. Menthol enhances the addictive properties of nicotine which makes it more addictive to the brain. In addition, menthol masks the unpleasant taste and scent of burnt tobacco which makes users breathe in more of it and use menthol cigarettes more often than they would use normal cigarettes. In short, you will develop nicotine dependence faster from menthol cigarettes than you would from normal cigarettes.
Read on to find out if menthol cigarettes are safer.
Are Menthol Cigarettes Safer?
No, menthol cigarettes are not safer. They give perceived safety to the smoker by masking unpleasant taste and scent but in reality, it is the same harm as the normal cigarette causes. Only with menthol cigarettes do users use it more because the taste and scent do not seem as unpleasant and dangerous. That is what makes menthol cigarettes worse than normal cigarettes.