Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the ongoing investigation in accordance with the European Union Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/779, what steps the Government plans to take to enforce the ban on menthol cigarettes after the end of the transition period.

The investigation into certain tobacco products which contain menthol, being carried out in Sweden in accordance with the European Union Commission’s implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/779, no longer applies to Great Britain. The Department has asked Public Health England to conduct testing analysis of cigarettes on the Great Britain market as part of its investigation of possible breaches of the prohibition of characterising flavours in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Since 20 May 2020 the production or supply of cigarettes with a menthol characterising flavour in the United Kingdom has been prohibited under Regulation 15 of the 2016 Regulations.