Tobacco Industry Strategies to Circumvent the U.S. Menthol Ban

As local bans on menthol nicotine products gain traction across the United States and a federal ban looms, researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Southern California (USC)[1]-[2] are studying the tobacco industry's efforts to circumvent California's menthol ban enacted in December 2022. These processes could indicate how tobacco companies would circumvent the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed national menthol tobacco ban, expected in fall 2023.

In April 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. This was the first step in a lengthy regulatory process to remove the affected products from the market.

Adding menthol to tobacco reduces the harshness of the smoke, making it easier for adolescents and young adults to start smoking. Furthermore, menthol has been shown to interact with nicotine to intensify the addictive properties of tobacco, making it harder for menthol smokers to quit.

Promotion of cooling cigarettes containing synthetic agents

Researchers conducted a field study at ten retail locations in California. It appears that when menthol cigarettes were banned in the state in 2022, new products containing synthetic cooling agents and explicitly labeled as "non-menthol" were heavily promoted by tobacco retailers to former menthol smokers. These "cooling" cigarettes, from the Newport, Camel, Kool, and Maverick brands, have packaging similar to that of traditional menthol cigarettes. The colors of these packages, such as bright green and blue, are typically associated with the marketing of various types of menthol products. Laboratory analyses of these products also showed that several synthetic cooling agents had been found in the cigarette brands, primarily in the filters.

The brand descriptors adopted by manufacturers for these products also referred to menthol. These included the terms "cool" and "crisp" alongside the description "menthol-free." Slogans such as "non-menthol for menthol smokers" and "a cool intensity made just for you" were used to describe the products at points of sale.

Retailers offered discounted prices on these refreshing cigarettes, and in some cases, the discounts could be combined with additional coupons or promotions offered through mobile phone apps.

The need for a complete ban to prevent circumvention by industry

The researchers believe that following up on the California experiment should alert the FDA to potential tobacco industry circumventions of the law, and they call for stricter and more comprehensive regulations. Future analyses of product components and composition, as well as more thorough monitoring of the marketing and use of refresher cigarettes, are also cited as essential by the researchers.

These practices highlighted by these researchers are not without precedent. For example, during the development of the latest European directive on tobacco products, the tobacco industry strongly opposed the menthol ban. Although it failed to prevent the adoption of this measure, it obtained an additional four years before its implementation and a limitation of the scope of the ban to cigarettes and rolling tobacco only. Furthermore, when the provision came into force, manufacturers interpreted the text of the menthol ban not as an ingredient but solely as a "characterizing flavor." They thus put new cigarettes containing menthol residues on the market and also used descriptions reminiscent of menthol, such as "Fresh." Japan Tobacco International particularly highlighted its "Fresh" Camels. With the menthol ban in place, tobacco manufacturers have finally tried to promote their other mentholated tobacco and nicotine products, which are exempt from the ban: cigarillos, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco. For the latter, heated tobacco "heets" mini-cigarettes (and all other flavors) are expected to be banned as of November 2023.

Consult the file “Menthol Ban: One Year Later, Where Are We Now?”

Keywords: Menthol, United States, circumvention, tobacco industry, FDA, European directive, regulatory loophole

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[1] Page MK, Paul EE, Leigh NJ, et al Still 'Cool': tobacco industry responds to state-wide menthol ban with synthetic coolants Tobacco Control Published Online First: 27 July 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058149 [2] Meza LR, Galimov A, Sussman S, et al Proliferation of 'non-menthol' cigarettes amid a state-wide flavor ban Tobacco Control Published Online First: 20 July 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2023-058074 National Committee Against Smoking |