“Our
study
confirms
that
Canada’s
menthol
cigarette
ban
led
to
substantial
public
health
benefits,”
said
Geoffrey
T.
Fong,
professor
of
psychology
and
public
health
sciences
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
and
lead
author
of
the
study.
“Smoking
is
the
number
one
preventable
cause
of
death
and
disease
in
Canada,
the
United
States,
and
globally.
”
Fong
is
also
senior
investigator
at
the
Ontario
Institute
for
Cancer
Research
and
principal
investigator
of
the
ITC
Project.
To
estimate
the
impact
of
a
U.S.
ban
on
menthol
cigarettes,
the
study
applied
the
effect
the
Canadian
ban
had
on
quitting
to
U.S.
statistics
on
menthol
smokers.
The
study
projected
that
a
U.S.
ban
on
menthol
cigarettes
would
lead
to
an
increase
in
quitting
of
1,337,988
U.S.
smokers.
Because
80
per
cent
of
Black
smokers
smoke
menthols—compared
to
about
35
per
cent
of
U.S.
smokers
overall—the
impact
of
a
menthol
cigarette
ban
in
the
U.S.
would
be
proportionately
greater
for
them.
The
projections
are
that
381,272
Black
smokers
would
quit
after
a
U.S.
ban
on
menthols.
The study appears in the journal Tobacco Control.