Eliminating flavored tobacco products can cut tobacco use
“Countries looking to implement policies restricting flavors in tobacco products can build on existing comprehensive policies. Future research could examine the implementation and impacts of these policies, to inform other countries interested in acting in this policy domain.”
Erinosos O, Glegg Smith K, Iacobelli M, Saraf S, Welding K, Cohen JE. Global review of tobacco product flavor policies. Tobacco Control. Published Online First: 15 May 2020.
https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2020/05/15/tobaccocontrol-2019-055454
Flavored tobacco products and alternatives have been produced to appeal to new users regardless of age. Menthol cigarettes have been marketed specifically to adolescents and racial minorities for a long time. Now, flavors are vital to alternative products like electronic cigarettes that provide nicotine. Evidence shows that those who cannot get the flavored cigarettes they have used in the past sometimes quit smoking. Therefore, both the harms from inhaled flavorings and the likelihood that banning flavors will result in increased quitting makes banning flavored products desirable for tobacco control.
Stephen Hamann
