ASH warns that the ban on sale of menthol cigarettes is long overdue as 280 children a day take up smoking in England

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) welcomes the introduction of the ban on child-friendly menthol cigarettes on 20th May as an essential next step towards ending the tobacco epidemic.[1] The increasingly tough twenty first century tobacco regulations introduced by successive governments have been associated with a rapid decline in youth smoking from 17% of under 16s in 2002 to 5% in 2018.

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[1], 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.”

Despite the long-term decline in child smoking, in England an estimated 280 children under 16 will start smoking today [2] highlighting why the menthol ban is needed.

More than two thirds [3] of the 280 children across England who start smoking today will turn into regular smokers, risking a lifetime of addiction and years of disease before a premature death. Every year nearly 80,000 people die from smoking in England,[4] and smoking is responsible for half the difference in life expectancy between the richest and the poorest.[5] The ban on menthol will help bring to an end this public health disaster.”

Ex-smoker Sue Mountain, from South Tyneside, used to smoke menthol cigarettes. She underwent laser treatment in 2012 after a biopsy revealed she had laryngeal cancer. The cancer returned in 2017 which required radiotherapy every day for four weeks.