Mint-flavored Cigarette Ban Does Not Increase Illicit Trade: Study

According to a new study published in the journal "Tobacco Control," banning menthol cigarettes will not result in more smokers purchasing menthol from illegal sources.

Researchers from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Waterloo evaluated the impact of federal and provincial bans on menthol cigarettes in Canada by surveying menthol and non-menthol cigarette smokers before and after the ban was implemented.

Smokers were asked whether they frequently use menthol-flavored cigarette brands and reported their most recent purchase. Those who continue to smoke after the menthol ban were also asked where they last purchased cigarettes.

According to the results, there has been no significant change in the main source of illegally rolled cigarettes from indigenous protected areas in Canada following the implementation of the ban.

The tobacco industry has long claimed that reducing smoking policies will lead to a significant increase in illicit trade," said Janet Chung-Hall, lead author of the new research and a scientist at ITC, in a statement. "We can add Canada's menthol ban to effective policies such as graphic warnings and plain packaging, which refute the industry's fear tactics and demonstrate that illicit trade has not actually increased.

A study in 2022 has combined data from the ITC project with comparable evaluation studies in Ontario, showing that Canada's menthol ban has led to a 7.3% higher quitting rate among menthol cigarette smokers compared to non-menthol smokers. Projecting this impact to the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration has already proposed its own menthol ban, ITC researchers estimate that the ban would cause 1.33 million smokers to quit.

According to Geoffrey Fong, the lead researcher of the ITC project and professor of psychology and public health sciences at the University of Waterloo, our previous studies conducted in Canada and the Netherlands have shown that a ban on menthol cigarettes can significantly reduce smoking. "These findings, combined, provide strong evidence to support the FDA's proposed ban on menthol," Fong stated.