Menthol cigarette ban causal loop diagrams

This set of tools is designed to synthesize evidence from studies on menthol bans in the form of a causal loop diagram to visualize the impacts of a menthol cigarette ban on tobacco use as well as the complex factors that may reinforce or mitigate ban effectiveness over time. We will guide you through the public health motivations for implementing a ban on menthol cigarettes, tactics the tobacco industry uses to circumvent or prevent menthol bans, factors affecting tobacco retailer compliance, and the effects of a menthol cigarette ban over time.

Why menthol bans matter for public health

This diagram maps the public health motivations for implementing a ban on menthol cigarettes, focusing on preventing smoking initiation, especially among youth, and lowering smoking-attributable disease. It demonstrates how menthol provides a cooling sensation, easing early initiation, reinforcing nicotine dependence, and suppressing quitting. By understanding these relationships, stakeholders can emphasize the health risks of menthol cigarettes in communities to increase public support for menthol bans and prevent youth smoking initiation.

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Diagram 1

What drives retailer compliance with menthol bans

This diagram explores factors affecting tobacco retailer compliance, emphasizing how policy support and enforcement may increase retailer compliance. It shows reinforcing loops where retailer compliance with a menthol ban results in lower availability of restricted menthol products. It also visualizes balancing loops where reduced availability causes frustration among menthol users due to perceived inconvenience, which may lower retailer compliance. By understanding these dynamics, policymakers can focus on strong city council support, leadership from impacted communities, community awareness-building campaigns, and understanding tobacco industry counter-tactics to enhance retailer compliance.

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Diagram 2

How the tobacco industry resists menthol bans

This diagram illustrates methods the tobacco industry uses to circumvent or prevent menthol bans, including litigation, lobbying against flavored tobacco product bans, and developing alternative tobacco products to counter the intended impacts. It demonstrates loops where tobacco manufacturers attempt to weaken or delay menthol bans and develop alternative products to retain customers, such as menthol accessories and synthetic coolants. By identifying these tactics, regulators can counter the tobacco industry with a multi-component systems approach at individual, environmental, and policy levels.

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Diagram 3

What happens after menthol cigarette bans are enacted

This diagram demonstrates the direct and distal effects of a menthol cigarette ban over time. Comprehensive restrictions on menthol tobacco products increase retailer compliance, consumer risk perceptions, and cessation efforts, while also reducing the availability of menthol cigarettes. It traces pathways where menthol bans reduce the availability of menthol cigarettes and lower menthol cigarette use, associated with reduced nicotine dependence and poor health outcomes such as smoking-attributable mortality. By examining these effects, stakeholders can pair bans with robust public support, wide coverage and enforcement of restricted products, and timely smoking cessation support to maximize public health benefits.

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Diagram 4