• Posted November 5, 2024

Banning Menthol Cigarettes Might Drive Smokers to Quit-Smoking Therapies

Banning menthol cigarettes could help convince smokers quit the habit, a new study finds.

People who prefer menthol cigarettes would rather buy nicotine gum or other nicotine replacement therapies than switch to traditional tobacco cigarettes, researchers reported recently in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

In addition, menthol cigarette smokers were less likely to use e-cigarettes as a substitute if menthol vaping products are also restricted, researchers found.

“I think the most important conclusion from this study is that we can improve health outcomes by emphasizing policies that reduce sales of flavored products and increase accessibility of nicotine replacement therapies,” said researcher Roberta Freitas-Lemos, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

More than 9 million adults -- about 32% of all smokers -- use menthol cigarettes, researchers said in background notes.

Menthol makes smoking easier by reducing the harshness of cigarette smoke and cooling the throat. 

The Biden Administration has come under fire for delaying a proposed U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on menthol cigarettes.

In a September hearing before Congress, FDA leaders said a menthol ban is still in the works.

"It's a priority for us. We followed through rule-making processes and it's presently with the White House and it continues to be a priority for us," Brian King, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, told a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data from 172 people who smoke cigarettes, including 76 who only smoke menthol cigarettes and 96 who smoke non-menthol cigarettes. They also looked at 91 who use multiple types of tobacco products.

The smokers were asked to use an online account to buy tobacco and nicotine products, which included replacement therapies.

When menthol cigarettes weren’t available, smokers who prefer menthol were less willing to buy other types of cigarettes. Instead, they turned to nicotine replacement products like patches or gum.

The study also found higher demand for high-ventilation cigarettes, which feature filter holes for airflow that make the smoke less harsh.

“Cigarettes with ventilation are milder and people think they are less harmful, but it is a false perception,” Freitas-Lemos said in a Virginia Tech news release.

Bans of these products could help smokers choose to quit, the researchers concluded.

“It could be that people who smoke ventilated cigarettes are more responsive to one ban than another,” Freitas-Lemos said.

More information

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has more on banning menthol cigarettes.

SOURCE: Virginia Tech, news release, Nov. 4, 2024