From Wednesday, a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes will be introduced in the United Kingdom and European Union countries. In fact, the law bans all flavored cigarettes, but since the majority of flavored cigarettes on the market are menthol, the ban was specifically named after it.
In addition to flavored cigarettes, filters, paper and flavored capsules will also disappear from store shelves. In Britain, it will also be impossible to buy slim cigarettes. Officials hope that the new measure will help reduce the number of young smokers.
How do most menthol cigarettes work? Often, a capsule is placed inside the filter that breaks when pressed, changing the flavor. Alternatively, the filter itself is soaked in menthol oil, which gives it an aroma.
Menthol was first added to cigarette filters in the 1920s: manufacturers claimed that such cigarettes were safer for smokers’ health and built their product advertising around images of nature, cool springs and water. This was intended to give the buyer a feeling of freshness when smoking. The target group was especially new smokers or people with health problems.
In fact, flavored cigarettes do not differ from regular cigarettes in their effects on the body, and they still contribute to the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, numerous surveys in different countries show that young people often believe that menthol cigarettes are less harmful.
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When inhaled, the menthol scent masks the smell of smoke. In addition, menthol has a cooling effect and can reduce the coughing and sore throat that many smokers experience. Doctors believe that this is exactly why young people believe that menthol cigarettes are less harmful. And studies show that this is why young people buy menthol cigarettes most often.
In fact, smokers often inhale such smoke deeper, hold it in their lungs longer, and expose themselves to even greater danger. In addition, when a person tries smoking for the first time and chooses flavored cigarettes, they are much more likely to develop a habit and become addicted to nicotine than those who try unflavored cigarettes.
“The cooling and numbing effect of menthol masks the short-term negative physiological effects of smoking, such as sore throat, burning sensation and coughing. This provides superficial relief and psychological reassurance that such cigarettes are less harmful to health. If these physiological effects were not masked, smokers would be more motivated to quit,” said Dr. Stacey Anderson of the University of San Francisco.
In addition, menthol cigarette smokers tend to smoke more on average and are less likely to want to quit. The problem is that quitting menthol cigarettes is more difficult for many people than quitting other cigarettes: the main reason is the more pleasurable taste.
An American research company conducted a survey among people who wanted to quit smoking: 69% of the respondents who were fans of menthol cigarettes could not kick the habit, while the figure for those who smoked regular cigarettes was 54%.
In the United Kingdom, the share of flavored cigarettes has increased steadily in recent years. In 2010, menthol cigarettes accounted for 7% of the market, while in 2013 they had already reached 8.5%. Formally, the law banning the sale of flavored cigarettes was passed in 2016, before Brexit, but Britain has decided to recognize it as relevant, so like all EU countries, it comes into force on May 20.
“Menthol cigarettes make young people more likely to start smoking and become addicted. The sales ban will help protect them from this, and it will also make it easier for smokers to quit this harmful habit,” said Deborah Arnott of Action on Smoking and Health.
On October 1, 2017, Canada completely banned the sale of menthol cigarettes. Experts from the Centre for the Control and Research of Tobacco Products have been monitoring the situation in the country since the beginning of the ban and published their findings last June.
Experts concluded that the ban on menthol cigarettes resulted in a large number of people quitting or actively trying to quit smoking one year after the law went into effect. “Despite the fact that smokers of menthol cigarettes are more addicted to nicotine and have a low quit rate, the quit rate increased significantly after the ban was introduced in Canada, which had a huge impact on the health of the Canadian population,” the study said. 63% of people who used to smoke menthol cigarettes daily tried to quit after the law was passed, and 24% were able to give up nicotine completely.
These figures didn’t impress the Spaniards, who, according to media reports, strongly opposed the ban on menthol cigarettes. According to the country’s Ministry of Health, 34% of Spaniards between the ages of 15 and 64 smoke daily. At the same time, approximately 350,000 Spaniards buy menthol cigarettes regularly or occasionally. As of May 20, the Spanish government equated the sale of menthol cigarettes to a serious crime – violators face a fine of up to 10,000 euros.
Another serious opponent of the law was former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, known for his love of menthol cigarettes. In 2013, when measures to restrict the sale of cigarettes were just being debated in the European Parliament, the 94-year-old Schmidt bought at least 200 packs, according to media reports, spending around £6,000. Journalists have estimated that this supply should have lasted the former chancellor for three years. However, Schmidt did not live to see the ban implemented – he died in 2015.
Before the European cigarette ban came into effect, cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris conducted a survey and found that about 220,000 people in the UK affected by the new law were ready to quit smoking. Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco tried to challenge the law, but lost in court.