More Ads for Menthol E-Cigarettes

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavored tobacco products, email and mailed advertisements for those products fell; however, ads for menthol-flavored products more than doubled, according to the Truth Initiative citing a Tobacco Control study.

The study showed that partial flavor bans may not deter consumers, including youth, away from tobacco products. “Rather, manufacturers and consumers are adapting to new FDA regulations,” the study authors write. “The restriction of some flavored e-cigarette products has resulted in a shift of the sales and marketing of restricted flavored e-cigarette products toward other available flavored e-cigarette products.”

“A more comprehensive approach that includes the consideration of disposables, refillable devices and other flavored e-cigarettes not covered by the current FDA guidance is needed to offer the most benefit for prevention efforts among youth and young adults,” the authors write.

The FDA is expected to ban menthol-flavored products sometime this year.