From Wednesday in the UK and the EU countries introduced a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes. Do something applicable law prohibits all cigarettes with a distinctive taste, but since most of the flavored cigarettes on the market — menthol, the ban was named that way.
in Addition to cigarettes with different flavors, from the shelves will disappear filters, papers and capsules containing flavors. In Britain also, you can not buy thin cigarette. Officials expect that the new measure will help reduce the number of young smokers.
As the majority of cigarettes with menthol? Often the filter is placed inside the capsule, which breaks when pressed, changing the taste. Or the filter menthol impregnated with oil which adds flavor.
the Menthol for the first time started to add in the cigarette filters in the 1920-ies: manufacturers alleged that such cigarettes are safer for the health of smokers, and advertising their products built around the images of nature, cool spring water.
It was supposed to give buyers a feeling of freshness from Smoking. In this case, the goal was just novice smokers or people with health problems.
In fact, in its effects on the body cigarette with different flavors are no different from the usual and still contribute to the development of cancer and diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
yet numerous surveys conducted in different countries, saying that young people often believe that menthol cigarettes are less dangerous.
Doctors believe that this is why young people believe in less harm for menthol cigarettes. And studies show that for this reason, young people often buy menthol cigarettes.
In fact, smokers often inhale such smoke more deeply, longer hold it in the lungs and expose themselves to greater danger.
in addition, if the person first tries Smoking and selects flavoured cigarettes, it is much more likely to develop the habit and become addicted to nicotine than those who try cigarettes without flavor additives.
“Cooling and anesthetic effects of menthol masks the short-term negative physiological effects of Smoking such as throat pain, burning and cough. This ensures that the surface relief, as well as the psychological belief that such cigarettes are less hazardous to health. If these physiological manifestations have not been masked, smokers would have a stronger motivation to quit,” says Dr. Stacey Anderson, of the University of San Francisco.
American research company conducted a survey among people who would like to quit Smoking: from lovers of menthol cigarettes are unable to leave the habit 69% oprosannah, while among smokers of cigarettes without such additives 54% .
In Britain in recent years, the share of flavored cigarettes is growing all the time. In 2010, menthol cigarettes accounted for 7% of the market, and in 2013 — already 8,5%.
Formally, the law banning the sale of flavored cigarettes was adopted in 2016, that is, until breccia, but Britain decided to recognize it as relevant, so, as in all EU countries, it shall enter into force on may 20.
“because Of the menthol cigarettes teenagers often start Smoking and become addicted. The ban on sale will help to protect them from this, and the smokers will be easier to quit this addiction”, says Deborah Arnott from the organization Action on Smoking and Health.
October 1, 2017, the sale of menthol cigarettes is completely banned in Canada. Experts of the Center for monitoring and research of tobacco products from the beginning of the ban followed the situation in the country and in June last year, issued its findings.
the Experts concluded that a ban on menthol cigarettes has led to the fact that a year after the law came into force a large number of people gave up Smoking or began to take active attempts to quit.
“Even despite the fact that smokers of menthol cigarettes are more addicted to nicotine, and among them, low failure rate from Smoking after the ban in Canada, this percentage has increased significantly, which has had a huge impact on public health in Canada,” the study says.
63% of people who every day smoked menthol cigarettes, tried to quit Smoking after the law, and 24% had managed to abstain from nicotine.
These numbers are not too impressed the Spaniards, who, according to media reports, has strongly opposed the ban on menthol cigarettes.
According to the Ministry of health of the country, 34% of Spaniards aged 15 to 64 years of age smoke every day. While menthol cigarettes regularly or occasionally buy about 350 thousand of the Spaniards.
Another serious enemy of the law was former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, known for his love of menthol cigarettes.
In 2013, when measures to restrict the sale of cigarettes just discussed in the European Parliament, 94-year-old Schmidt, according to media reports, bought not less than 200 units, spending about 6 thousand pounds.
Journalists have calculated that this amount is the ex-Chancellor should be enough for three years. But to ban Schmidt did not live — he died in 2015.
Before the entry into force of the European ban cigarettes manufacturer Philip Morris conducted a survey and found out that about 220 thousand people in Britain affected by the new law, ready to quit.
Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco tried to challenge this law, but lost in court.
