Flavor ban effective in reducing e-cigarette use among youth

A total ban on flavors other than menthol and tobacco flavors is likely to cause teen and young adult e-cigarette users to quit, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. These results are greatly increased if the flavor ban is extended to menthol flavor.

The study was based on a national sample of 1,414 young people in the United States, ages 14 to 21, who reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. Adolescents and young adults were asked to indicate the age at which they started using e-cigarettes, their preferences in terms of flavor, and the type of e-cigarette they preferred. Each participant was also asked whether they thought they would continue using their e-cigarette if flavors were banned, except for tobacco and menthol flavors, or only tobacco.[1].

More than two-thirds of young people likely to stop using e-cigarettes if flavours are banned

According to the study, the average age of initiation to e-cigarettes was 16 years. In 45.3% of cases, fruity flavors were designated as the preferred flavors by adolescents and young adults, followed by iced fruit flavors (30.5%), fresh mint (10.7%), menthol (10.2%) and tobacco (3.3%). The survey also shows a high penetration of disposable e-cigarettes among adolescents and young adults, as it was indicated as the preferred device of 47% of respondents. Finally, the results show that 38.8% of adolescents and young adults mentioned that they would stop using e-cigarettes if flavors, except menthol and tobacco flavor, were banned. The extension of this ban to menthol flavour considerably strengthens the effectiveness of the measure, since 70.8% of respondents indicated that they would stop using e-cigarettes in this scenario.

A public health measure increasingly considered

Among the study's major limitations, the researchers note that nearly 80% of respondents were women, and the majority were white, which may pose a barrier to generalizing these findings, especially since menthol consumption in the United States varies considerably by race. the ethnic origin of individuals. However, these results seem to indicate that a ban on flavours with the exception of tobacco flavour could have a significant impact on the consumption of e-cigarettes among younger generations. This measure, supported by the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT), has already been implemented in several countries, such as Finland, Hungary, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

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[1] Adolescent and Young Adult Response to Hypothetical E-Liquid Flavor Restrictions, Natasha K. Sidhu, William V. Lechner, Sam N. Cwalina, Lauren Whitted, Sabrina L. Smiley, Jessica L. Barrington-Trimis, Junhan Cho, Theodore L. Wagener, Adam M. Leventhal, and Alayna P. Tackett, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 2023 84:2, 303-308

National Committee Against Smoking |