Sales of all cigarettes in Massachusetts declined by up to 33% after the state instituted a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes, an analysis published Tuesday by JAMA Internal Medicine found.
The ban, put into effect in June 2020, led to a roughly 300% drop in sales of packs of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the state by July of last year, the data showed.
Over the same period, cigarette sales in 33 states that did not institute a menthol flavor ban fell by 8%, while sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes declined by 3%, the researchers said.
“We learn from Massachusetts that a menthol flavor ban effectively reduces both menthol and overall cigarette sales,” study co-author Samuel Asare told UPI in an email.
Brian P. Dunleavy – UPI – 2022-01-04.
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