Menthol cigarettes will DISAPPEAR from shelves – as ban starts on Wednesday
SMOKERS who prefer menthols and skinny cigarettes will no longer be able to get their favourites when new smoking laws come into play on Wednesday.
The ban will also see the production of click dual cigarettes – such as Sterling Dual – that change from normal to menthol, stopped.
It's part of a four-year phasing-out period that stems from the new EU Tobacco Product Directive laws, which entered into force on May 19, 2014, and became applicable in EU countries on May 20, 2016.
So far, flavoured cigarettes were restricted to packs of 20 but they'll be totally outlawed by Wednesday.
In 2017, smaller packs of rolling tobacco were banned, as well as 10 packs of cigarettes.
New rules
Chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Deborah Arnott previously said the new rules will mean that “no person may produce or supply cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco with:
(a) a filter, paper, package, capsule or other component containing flavourings;
(b) a filter, paper or capsule containing tobacco or nicotine; or
(c) a technical feature allowing the consumer to modify the smell, taste, or smoke intensity of the product.”
Deter youths
Cancer Research UK says that two-thirds of smokers start before the age of 18 - the beginning of an addiction which will kill up to two in three long-term smokers.
Action on Smoking (ASH) has welcomed the ban.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: “Menthol cigarettes are a child-friendly starter product because menthol makes it easier to smoke and to inhale the smoke deep into the lungs. Menthol smokers are also more likely to become heavily addicted and find it harder to quit. That’s why the Government concluded a ban on menthol was justified it’s just a shame it’s taken so long. The ban on menthol is long overdue, all other cigarette flavourings became illegal three years ago.”
Menthol cigarettes are flavoured with compound menthol, a substance which triggers cold-sensitive nerves in the skin without actually providing a drop in temperature.
The government hopes the law will reduce the number of smokers across the EU by 2.4 million.
Previous moves
Tobacco products have already been hidden under the counter and stripped of branding.
At the time, four of the world's biggest tobacco firms launched a last-ditch legal bid against the move, but it failed.
They claimed the new regulations violated several UK and EU laws and would destroy their property rights by making products indistinguishable from each other.
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They also claimed there was a lack of evidence that plain packaging would deter smokers.
Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International appealed the laws in the High Court.
But Mr Justice Green dismissed all their grounds, saying: "The regulations were lawful when they were promulgated by Parliament and they are lawful now in the light of the most up-to-date evidence."