Menthol cigarettes: Tobacco control policy in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand has more than 12.5 million smokers (8 million smoke cigarettes). About 19% of cigarette
smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. This article reviews previous research related to menthol
cigarettes in order to improve public health policy regarding tobacco control. The review
shows that menthol cigarette smokers' risk of developing diseases was equivalent to that
of those who smoke non-menthol cigarettes. However, menthol cigarette smokers believe
that menthol had medicinal benefits and therefore were less harmful than normal cigarettes.
The tobacco industry uses menthol cigarettes to target young and new smokers as well as
those who intend to quit smoking. This strategy will either increase the number of smokers
or not reduce the number of smokers as much as expected.
The challenge for tobacco control policy in Thailand is to comply with the WHO
Framework Convention for Tobacco Control by prohibiting the use on cigarette packs of the
word “menthol” or other terms which could imply as a cooling property and to ban menthol
cigarettes in Thailand.