Regulating flavours and flavour delivery technologies: an analysis of menthol cigarettes and RYO tobacco in Aotearoa New Zealand.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Menthol facilitates smoking initiation among young people, enhances nicotine's addictiveness and fosters the false belief that menthol products are safer. As a result, several countries have banned use of menthol as a characterising flavour. Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) could disallow menthol-flavoured cigarettes as part of its endgame legislation; however, little is known about the NZ menthol market. METHODS: To examine the NZ menthol market, we analysed tobacco company returns to the Ministry of Health from 2010 to 2021. We calculated the market share of menthol cigarettes as a percentage of total cigarettes released for sale, estimated capsule cigarettes' market share as a percentage of total cigarette released for sale and menthol released for sale, and calculated menthol roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco released for sale as a percentage of total RYO released. RESULTS: Menthol brands accounted for a relatively small but nonetheless sizeable proportion of NZ's tobacco market and in 2021 constituted 13% of NZ's factory made cigarette market and 7% of the RYO market, representing 161 million cigarettes and 25 tonnes of RYO. The introduction of capsule technologies using menthol flavours corresponded with a rise in menthol sales among factory made cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS: Capsule technologies using menthol flavours work synergistically to enhance the appeal of smoking and appear likely to encourage experimentation among non-smoking young people. Comprehensive policy that regulates menthol flavours and innovations used to deliver flavour sensations will support tobacco endgame goals in NZ and could inform policy in other countries.