Tobacco companies circumvent Ireland's menthol ban

Health Minister Simon Harris has called for EU action against tobacco companies he says are "undermining" the ban on menthol cigarettes, which was introduced in Ireland and across the EU on May 20 as a measure to stop young people starting to smoke.

The menthol market was estimated at 18 percent of the total cigarette market in the country, or around €252 million, before the ban was introduced.

Some companies such as Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International have been criticised for circumventing the ban with substitute products. Philip Morris International, the maker of Marlboro, has just introduced a new product containing menthol to the Irish market. PMI claims the new product complies with the ban because, according to the company, the cigarette does not taste like menthol when smoked. A number of Irish retailers continue to illegally sell PMI's old menthol brand, Marlboro Green, which was still available to buy in late May after the ban.

Meanwhile, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), the maker of Silk Cut, has also argued that its new replacement brand, Silk Cut Choice Green, complies with the ban, although it admits that it uses menthol flavourings in its manufacture.

Strategies announced in advance

Both JTI and Philip Morris had announced to Irish retailers in the April issue of the trade magazine Retail News their new brands as replacements for their old menthol cigarettes. Philip Morris ran a full-page ad with a green colour theme for a new product called Marlboro Bright, which the manufacturer says is a "menthol blend without methylation"[1] ", a "traditional non-menthol cigarette," although it is clearly aimed at smokers who were previously menthol cigarette smokers. JTI also ran a series of full-page ads for its offerings in the magazine. Both companies claim to conduct robust internal testing to determine that the use of flavors in their products does not produce a distinctly different odor or taste than tobacco.

It thus appears that tobacco companies are adapting their products and undermining the objective of the menthol ban, adopted in 2014 and which had already benefited from an additional exemption of 4 years. Irish Minister Harris believes that such circumventions must be addressed, in particular, at the level of the European Union.

Source of the article (in English)

©Tobacco Free Generation

[1] Process that allows certain characteristics to be expressed or not, to synthesize the aroma to give it flavor. Without methylation, the aroma will not be "active" and will not have the taste.

©National Committee Against Smoking |