As the Biden administration continues to deliberate over instituting a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, new research suggests such a policy can be an effective tool in driving more people to quit smoking.

OPINION:

An analysis published Wednesday in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that across places where a ban on menthol cigarettes was put in place, 24% of those users quit smoking altogether one to two years afterward. Researchers with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reviewed previous studies related to menthol bans in effect in Canada and the Netherlands to arrive at that estimate, and also found that half of menthol smokers switched to smoking non-menthol cigarettes, while 24% continued smoking menthols.

Researchers also examined studies in which smokers who didn’t face a menthol ban were asked to consider what they might do if one were put in place. One-third of menthol smokers across studies hypothesized that they would quit or try to quit smoking in the wake of a ban, while only about a quarter thought they would switch to nonmenthol cigarettes. Close to 30%........

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