Restriction on the Sale of Menthol-Flavored Cigarettes
ACS Tobacco Control researchers' key findings about how restricting sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes affects overall cigarette sales.
Menthol-flavored cigarette smoking has been associated with:
- Encouraging youths and young adults to start smoking
- A greater dependence on cigarettes, making it more difficult for people who use menthol-flavor cigarettes to quit
- A lower rate of success with smoking cessation
Plus, the disproportionate use of menthol cigarettes among youth and African Americans raises important public health concerns about disparities in the health consequences of smoking.
The prevalence of current cigarette smoking among US adults has declined 30% over the last 55 years. But the availability of menthol-flavored cigarettes is slowing down the pace of success in reducing the number of people who smoke in the US.
Our Research Focus
The American Cancer Society (ACS) Tobacco Control Research (TCR) team analyzes the sale and use of cigarettes in states with sales bans on menthol-flavored cigarettes to help predict results of—and prepare the groundwork for—a future national menthol sales ban by the FDA.
Our studies about how sales restrictions of menthol-flavored cigarettes affect both overall cigarette sales and smoking prevalence have provided evidence in support of the proposed federal ban on menthol cigarette sales in the US.
