Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for banning the sale and production of menthol cigarettes in the UK.

The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), introduced a ban on flavoured cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. The only exception was for menthol cigarettes where a four-year extension was allowed for the ban to come into force. This expired on 20 May 2020.

The published impact assessment of the TRPR, along with backed up by the international evidence base, states that menthol cigarettes act as a gateway into smoking, have particular appeal amongst young people, and that there is a misconception that they are healthier to smoke.

The introduction of the ban will save lives. Stopping smoking now will bring immediate benefits to health, including for those with an existing smoking-related disease.