February 3, 2023 – A recent CDC poll found that 57.3% of U.S. respondents support a ban on the sale of all tobacco products and 62.3% support a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes.
Even amongst smokers, there was some support for the bans. About a 3rd of smokers supported the menthol ban and greater than 1 / 4 supported a complete tobacco ban. the survey found.
According to the FDA, menthol makes it easier to begin smoking and likewise increases the results of nicotine, increasing the chance of addiction and making it harder to quit.
The survey asked the opinions of 6,455 adults within the United States in spring 2021, before the federal government proposed ban Menthol cigarettes.
The menthol ban was supported by 59.5% of men and 65.0% of girls, while the whole ban was supported by 52.2% of men and 62.2% of girls.
Support for a whole ban included 54.4 percent of non-Hispanic white respondents, 60.5 percent of Hispanic respondents, 63.4 percent of non-Hispanic black respondents, and 67.4 percent of non-Hispanic respondents from other racial and ethnic groups.
56.3 percent of adults with a highschool diploma or less and 60.6 percent of adults with a minimum of a school degree supported a whole ban.
Support for the menthol ban is mostly strong, the CDC said.
“Our findings are generally consistent with previous research showing support for a menthol cigarette ban, including among populations historically affected by unfair marketing practices and where menthol cigarette use is common,” the CDC said. “No significant differences were found across racial and ethnic groups in support of a policy to ban menthol cigarette sales, underscoring broad support among all respondents.”
As of February 2022, a minimum of 145 communities within the U.S. have banned menthol cigarettes and two cities prohibit the sale of any tobacco products, the CDC said.
According to the American Lung Association, tobacco use is the leading preventable explanation for death in America, killing 480,000 people every year.