MENTHOL CIGARETTES

E.U. Health Ministers have today decided that as from 2019, it will not be possible to produce and sell cigarettes with added flavours such as strawberry and menthol. Denmark had resisted the inclusion of menthol, since many of the 130,000 Danish menthol smokers (out of around 1 million in total) are pensioners, who tend to vote a lot and so are dangerous to antagonise. However, research shows that menthol cigarettes are often the way in which young people are introduced to cigarettes; it is hoped that by banning them, it will reduce smoking amongst the young.

I can subscribe to the latter. I have never been much of a smoker, but I did smoke menthol cigarettes a bit as a teenager. I gave up because a rumour went round that menthol cigarettes made you sterile. I doubt that that was on the agenda in Brussels today.

Walter Blotscher