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decorative One in seven adults who smoke in Great Britain report using menthol-flavoured cigarettes despite UK legislation that aimed to curb their use, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control and part-funded by Cancer Research UK, looked at survey responses from 66,868 adults in England, Wales and Scotland between October 2020, five months after the ban was introduced, and March 2023. The researchers found that 16% of adult smokers reported using menthol-flavoured cigarettes at the start of the study period, with the figure remaining fairly stable at 14% by the end of the study - equivalent to one in seven adult smokers or nearly one million people still using menthol-flavoured cigarettes. Only about 15% of survey respondents who smoked menthol-flavoured cigarettes reported purchasing from any illicit sources in the previous six months such as 'under the counter' or 'cheap from friends' - a similar proportion to those who smoked non-flavoured cigarettes. Researchers said this indicated that most people are likely using legal accessories including menthol-flavoured drops, filter balls or cards, or purchasing cigarettes perceived to contain menthol flavouring without being labelled as such. Lead author Dr Vera Buss (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) said: "Our results suggest the tobacco industry may have used various loopholes in the law to continue to enable people to smoke menthol-flavoured cigarettes. "To effectively reduce the prevalence of menthol cigarette smoking to near zero, policymakers in the UK should consider closing current loopholes in the legislation.
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