United States: Majority of adults support banning menthol

A new study by the organization Truth Initiative[1] shows that more than half of American adults (56.4%) support a federal ban on menthol cigarettes.

Researchers assessed political support for a ban on menthol in cigarettes among a sample of 2,871 adults aged 18 to 64 from a nationally representative online panel.

Overall, 56.4% of participants support a government policy to ban menthol cigarette sales. Support is particularly strong among African Americans (60.5%) and other groups highly targeted by the tobacco industry: women (62.5%) and Hispanics/Latinos (69.3%). With nearly 65% of support, nonsmokers are also more likely to favor banning menthol cigarettes. Among smokers, the proportion is 30% of support among non-menthol tobacco product users and 28.5% among menthol smokers.

The need for a federal ban on menthol

The continued availability of menthol cigarettes in the United States is now seen as a matter of social justice. The majority of Black smokers in the United States smoke menthol cigarettes, and extensive research shows that the tobacco industry has targeted these African American communities for decades with menthol cigarette advertisements. A growing number of local governments have enacted restrictions on the sales of menthol tobacco products (California[2] and Massachusetts[3] in 2020) but several public health organizations have initiated proceedings to obtain a federal ban from the Food and Drug Administration[4].

It appears in fact, according to assessments made by researchers at Rutgers University[5] (New Jersey), that the effectiveness of local regulations is insufficient to reduce the availability of menthol cigarettes. With this in mind, health organizations are calling for a nationwide ban, which could be achieved if the Senate strengthens and passes bill HR 2339, also known as "Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019".

Keywords: United States, menthol, ban

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Czaplicki L, Schillo B, Rose SW, Zhou Y, Vallone D. National Support for a Menthol Cigarette Sales Ban. Public Health Reports. November 2020. doi:10.1177/0033354920966004 [2] Jennifer Maloney, Christine Mai-Duc, California Approves Ban on Menthol Cigarettes, The Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2020, accessed November 24, 2020 [3] Massachusetts Ban On Menthol Cigarettes Set To Take Effect, CBS Boston, May 31, 2020, accessed November 24, 2020 [4] American Medical Association (AMA) joins lawsuit against FDA, AMA website, September 3, 2020, accessed November 24, 2020 [5] Rutgers Experts Urge Ban of Menthol Cigarettes Nationwide, Rutgers University website, October 9, 2020, accessed November 24, 2020 National Committee Against Smoking |