The impact of the European Union’s menthol cigarette ban on smoking cessation outcomes: Longitudinal findings from the 2020-2021 ITC Netherlands Surveys
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Introduction: To reduce the appeal of tobacco, the European Union (EU) banned menthol as a characterising flavour in cigarettes in May 2020. This pre-post study evaluated the impact of the menthol ban on smoking cessation outcomes among a representative cohort of Dutch smokers.
Methods: Adult (18+ years) smokers were recruited at Wave 1 (pre-ban) of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Surveys (February-March 2020) and followed post-ban at Wave 2 (September-November 2020) and Wave 3 (June-July 2021) (N=1,326, participated in all three waves). Weighted bivariate, logistic regression, and generalised estimating equation model analyses were conducted.
Results: Usual menthol use decreased from pre-ban (7.8%) to post-ban (4.0% at Wave 2 and 4.4% at Wave 3) (p<0.001). Pre-ban menthol smokers had greater odds of making a post-ban quit attempt than non-menthol smokers (66.9% vs 49.6%, aOR=1.89, 95%CI: 1.13-3.16). Compared to pre-ban non-menthol smokers, a higher proportion of menthol smokers quit by Wave 2 (17.8% vs 10.2%, p=0.025) and by Wave 3 (26.1% vs 14.1%, p=0.002), although this was not significant after adjusting for other factors. Female pre-ban menthol smokers had greater odds of quitting by Wave 3 than female non-menthol smokers (aOR=2.23, 95%CI: 1.10-4.51). Most pre-ban menthol smokers (n=99) switched to non-menthol cigarettes (40.0%) or reported that they continued to smoke menthol cigarettes (33.0%) at Wave 3.
Conclusions: The EU menthol ban was effective in reducing menthol use and in increasing quit attempts and quitting among pre-ban menthol smokers. Impact could be maximised by closing gaps that allow post-ban menthol cigarette use.
Methods: Adult (18+ years) smokers were recruited at Wave 1 (pre-ban) of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Surveys (February-March 2020) and followed post-ban at Wave 2 (September-November 2020) and Wave 3 (June-July 2021) (N=1,326, participated in all three waves). Weighted bivariate, logistic regression, and generalised estimating equation model analyses were conducted.
Results: Usual menthol use decreased from pre-ban (7.8%) to post-ban (4.0% at Wave 2 and 4.4% at Wave 3) (p<0.001). Pre-ban menthol smokers had greater odds of making a post-ban quit attempt than non-menthol smokers (66.9% vs 49.6%, aOR=1.89, 95%CI: 1.13-3.16). Compared to pre-ban non-menthol smokers, a higher proportion of menthol smokers quit by Wave 2 (17.8% vs 10.2%, p=0.025) and by Wave 3 (26.1% vs 14.1%, p=0.002), although this was not significant after adjusting for other factors. Female pre-ban menthol smokers had greater odds of quitting by Wave 3 than female non-menthol smokers (aOR=2.23, 95%CI: 1.10-4.51). Most pre-ban menthol smokers (n=99) switched to non-menthol cigarettes (40.0%) or reported that they continued to smoke menthol cigarettes (33.0%) at Wave 3.
Conclusions: The EU menthol ban was effective in reducing menthol use and in increasing quit attempts and quitting among pre-ban menthol smokers. Impact could be maximised by closing gaps that allow post-ban menthol cigarette use.
Date Issued
2024-04-19
Date Acceptance
2022-08-23
Citation
Tobacco Control, 2024, 33 (3), pp.302-309
ISSN
0964-4563
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Start Page
302
End Page
309
Journal / Book Title
Tobacco Control
Volume
33
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2022/09/13/tc-2022-057428
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-09-26