Italy: Japan Tobacco sued for continuing to sell menthol cigarettes

Italian customs are challenging a decision that allowed Japan Tobacco International (JTI) to reintroduce two brands of menthol-flavored cigarettes.

The marketing of menthol cigarettes has been banned in the European Union since May 20, 2020. Many Circumvention reports However, the tobacco industry has since reported some abuses of this measure, as shown by a Danish study published in Tobacco Control[1]The ban only applies to the "characteristic aromas" of cigarettes, a definition considered too vague and difficult to apply according to those involved in the fight against smoking.

Customs appeals ruling in favor of JTI

In the months following the ban, JTI launched 66 cigarette brands in Europe that contained menthol flavouring, but did not state this. In Italy, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) had some of these brands analysed by the Mario Negri laboratory, located in Milan and specialising in tobacco issues. The laboratory confirmed that there was a higher level of menthol than in standard cigarettes in cigarettes marketed by JTI under the Camel and Winston brands.[2].

Italian customs in turn had these brands analyzed in a laboratory in Palermo, and ordered the withdrawal of these references from the market. JTI challenged this decision in court, on the grounds that this Sicilian laboratory was not approved by the European Commission to carry out analyses of menthol cigarettes. The Regional Administrative Court of Rome followed the cigarette manufacturer's reasoning and authorized, in September 2022, the re-sale of the brands in question. Although JTI has not yet reintroduced the brands in question, Italian customs have just appealed this decision, with the decision expected in early 2023. In France and the United Kingdom, JTI has reintroduced menthol cigarettes under the Camel Fresh brand.

Two British American Tobacco brands also implicated

In early 2022, Italian customs had cigarettes marketed by British American Tobacco (BAT) analyzed, and had also requested the withdrawal of the Lucky Strike Eclipse and Rothmans of London Surround King Size brands. After agreeing in June 2022 to modify the content of these cigarettes, BAT was nevertheless able to keep these references on the market.

"The problem is that the law should leave no doubt about the amount of menthol allowed. There should be a quantitative limit for menthol flavourings in cigarettes.", said Maria Sofia Cattaruzza, president of the Italian Society of Tobacco (SIT), who stressed the importance of this court decision. Like other undeclared additives in the composition of cigarettes, such as liquorice or honey, menthol remains one of the ingredients most used by the tobacco industry, at reduced levels so as not to be included among the "characterizing aromas". Many studies have in fact shown that the presence of menthol facilitates the initiation of smoking and the establishment of a more severe addiction to nicotine.[3].

To go further and better understand the issues surrounding the ban on menthol flavors, read our decryption.

Keywords: Italy, menthol, JTI, BAT, OCCRP

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[1] Brink A, Glahn AS, Kjaer NT, Tobacco companies' exploitation of loopholes in the EU ban on menthol cigarettes: a case study from Denmark, Tob Control Published Online First: 21 March 2022. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057213

[2] Cerantola A, Big Tobacco, Italy in Court After Ban on Menthol Cigarettes Following OCCRP Exposé, OCCRP, published December 15, 2022, accessed December 16, 2022.

[3] Wickham R, The Biological Impact of Menthol on Tobacco Dependence, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Vol. 22(10), Oct 2020, 1676–1684.