The government are banning menthol cigarettes by 2020
A menthol cigarette ban will be in place by 2020, as part of a current plan to phase them out over time.
This phase out plan has already begun, and will continue in May this year when ten packs will be banned. This is to help make cigarettes look less attractive.
Menthol is a chemical, often made with mint oils, that acts as a mild local anaesthetic. It can be used in cough medicines, throat sweets and fever reducing patches as a pain killing agent. In cigarettes, menthol is used for flavouring, and to reduce throat/sinus irritation from smoking. This can be particularly attractive for new smokers, not yet used to the feeling of inhaling the smoke.
All of these bans are focused on deterring potential young smokers from picking up a cigarette. The banning of menthol flavourings will make smoking harder for first timers, and will help smokers quit before they are addicted.
This campaign began in May 2016 to deter young people from smoking. The eventual ban will also include roll-up-tobacco bags of under 30 grams. The ban on these cheap multi-packs is targeting the pocket; it will cost more per packet to buy cigarettes once ten packs are off the market.
A local resident said: “Stopping sales will affect sales, but it wont stop smoking overall as it’s just used as a quick fix.” Another said: “People will just result to counterfeit cigarettes and the black market… people are always going to smoke.”
Smoking freedom campaigner, Pat Nurse, criticised this ban, she said: “This not only penalises the poor smoker by forcing them to pay more, but also takes away the choice to buy smaller packs which means they will smoke more.
“It is utter madness but then this issue is no longer about health, it is about control and the ideological vision for a smoke free world.”