Table 1 Studies that report results related to implemented menthol bans
From: The actual and anticipated effects of a menthol cigarette ban: a scoping review
Author, Year | Location | Age group | Study Design (Theme) | Sample Size | Ban Specifics (Implementation Date) | Data Sources | Main Outcomes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Borland, T. 2018 [14] | Ontario, Canada | NA | Pre and post analysis (Compliance) | N = 63 packs (n = 30menthol and n = 33 non-menthol) | 2017 Provincial ban on menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products | Eight retail outlets, Toronto, Ontario. Pre-ban Oct/Nov 2016; Post-ban Feb and Sept 2017. Evaluation of menthol packs matched with their non-menthol alternatives | Content analysis of the pack: visual, textual and physical design. Inside and outside colors, foil color, filter tip, filter type, and taste descriptors | Post-ban, blue was the most prominent pack color. Blue and silver filter tips continued to be used. Use of “smooth” instead of “menthol” or “fresh” descriptors in the pack. |
Brown, J. 2017 [15] | Alberta and Nova Scotia, Canada | NA | Pre and post analysis (Compliance) | N = 498 cigarette packs (n = 199 packs of menthols) | 2015 Provincial ban on menthol tobacco products (Nova Scotia, May 2015. Alberta, Sept 2015. | Retail outlets cigarette pack purchases. Sept/Dec 2015. Pre-ban in Alberta; Post-ban Alberta and Nova Scotia. | Content analysis of the pack: visual, textual and physical design. In and out colors, foil color, filter tip, filter type, and taste descriptors | Post-ban, no cigarette packs labeled as “menthol” were purchased.Brands identified as menthol pre-ban were repackaged to connote products that were menthol replacements. Menthol was replaced with “Green” descriptor in Alberta. |
Chaiton, M. 2019 [16] | Ontario, Canada | NA | Time Series (Sales) | NA | 2017 Provincial ban on menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products | Ontario (ban) and British Columbia (no ban) monthly wholesale data from Health Canada from 2012 to 2017 (80 months). | Sales of cigarettes | Post-ban, menthol cigarette sales fell to near zero (55 million unit reduction), a 4% decrease in non-menthol and 11% decrease in total cigarette sales. British Columbia saw a 15% decline in menthol sales, a 1% increase in non-menthol sales and a 1% decrease in overall sales. |
Chaiton, M. 2019 [17] | Ontario, Canada | 16+ | Cohort study (Individual Behavior) | N = 913 current smokers | 2017 Provincial ban on menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products | Telephone Survey. Baseline Sept/Dec 2016. Follow-up Jan/Aug 2018. Stratified by daily and occasional menthol and non-menthol smokers. | Current use, intention to quit and quit attempt one-year post ban | Post-ban, 56% of all respondents reported at least one quit attempt and 19% reported successful quitting. Menthol users were more likely to have made a quit attempt (62% vs. 43% of non-menthol users). 24% of daily menthol users reported having quit post-ban compared to 19% of non-menthol smokers. Daily and occasional menthol smokers made more quit attempts (adjusted relative rate of 1.62 and 1.09) than non-menthol smokers. |
Chaiton, M. 2018 [18] | Ontario, Canada | 16+ | Cohort study (Individual Behavior) | N = 325 individuals who smoked at least one menthol in the past year | 2017 Provincial ban on menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products | Telephone Survey. Baseline Sept/Dec 2016. Follow-up Jan 2018. Stratified by menthol daily, menthol someday and nonmenthol users. | Current use, intention to quit and quit attempt one-month post-ban | Pre-ban, 123 menthol smokers [59.7%] said that they would switch to non-menthol cigarettes, but only 51 (28.2%) switched post-ban.Pre-ban, 30 (14.5%) said they quit vs. 60 [29.1%]) attempted to quit post-ban. Pre-ban, 12 [5.8%] intended to use other flavored tobacco or e-cigarette products (menthol was not banned in e-cigarette products) vs. 60 [29.1%]) who switch post-ban. |
Stokolsa, M. 2019 [19] | Nova Scotia, Canada | NA | Time series (Compliance) | NA | 2015 Provincial ban on menthol cigarettes | Provincial Tax Commission data on illicit cigarettes seized from 2007/08 to 2017/18. Pre-ban (2012 to 2015). Post-ban (2015–2018) Data not specifically stratified by menthol or non-menthol cigarettes. | Number of seized illicit cigarettes | Post-ban, the number of illicit cigarette cartons decline from > 60,000 to < 10,000 in 2017. Afterward, the seizure volume remained stable, with no statistically significant difference in the number of cigarettes seized before and after the menthol ban. Amount of menthol cigarettes seized was not significant. |