Menthol cigarette smokers who can’t buy menthol products are more willing to turn to nicotine gum and other replacement therapies, improving health outcomes, according to new research.

The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the products adult smokers would buy in an experimental marketplace that tailored options to people’s tobacco preferences. People who preferred menthol cigarettes were more likely to choose smoking cessation therapies, including gum and lozenges, than other kinds of cigarettes when menthol cigarettes were unavailable. They also were less likely to turn to e-cigarettes.

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The study involved 172 adults who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day and a minimum of 100 cigarettes over the course of their lifetime. They had a variety of tobacco preferences, and were each given specific amounts of money to spend based on their real-life budgets. 

“I think the most important conclusion from this study is that we can improve health outcomes by emphasizing policies that reduce sales of flavored products and increase accessibility of nicotine replacement therapies,” Roberta Freitas-Lemos, assistant professor at Virginia Tech University’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, said in a story by a university publication.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed a federal ban on menthol cigarettes in 2022 – a ban that is still awaiting approval from President Joe Biden.

Tobacco companies add menthol, which is naturally found in peppermint and other plants, to seduce people who have never used tobacco and young people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cooling sensation of menthol going down the throat can feel soothing. Also, menthol can alter the way the brain processes sensations related to pain and taste.

Menthol-flavored tobacco products can be harder to quit, according to research, and tobacco companies have targeted Black communities with menthol cigarette advertising. A 2018 report found that 85% of Black smokers preferred menthol cigarettes.

A 2020 editorial in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research – titled “Banning Menthol Cigarettes: A Social Justice Issue Long Overdue” – cited research that “menthol in cigarettes increases initiation, facilitates progression to regular smoking, increases dependence, and decreases the likelihood of smoking cessation, especially among Black smokers.”