Reactions to hypothetical flavor bans among current users of flavored e-cigarettes.

Banning flavors in e-cigarettes and other tobacco products has the potential to decrease their use. We examined how current users of flavored e-cigarettes might react to several hypothetical ban scenarios. We found that if e-cigarettes with any added flavors except tobacco or menthol were banned, the majority of current e-cigarette users would keep using non-flavored e-cigarettes or those with flavors that were not banned. When menthol flavor was added to a ban, a greater proportion of respondents would quit all tobacco use, however, more would also switch to cigarettes or cigars. When menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars were added to a ban, those who used menthol-flavor e-cigarettes only would be less likely to switch to cigarettes and cigars. Our study indicated that among current e-cigarette users, the harm-reduction resulting from a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, particularly when menthol was banned (i.e., from users quitting all use), may be outweighed by the harm increases (i.e., switching to cigarettes or cigars, or other products that are more harmful than using e-cigarettes). Concurrently banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars would secure more certain net harm reductions.