One in seven adult British smokers say they use menthol-flavoured cigarettes despite them being banned since 2020, according to a study.

Some 16% of adult smokers – or almost one million people – reported using menthol-flavoured cigarettes in October 2020, with the figure remaining fairly stable at 14% by March 2023, the study by researchers at University College London (UCL) and published in the journal Tobacco Control found.

Researchers, part-funded by Cancer Research UK, looked at survey responses from 66,868 adults in England, Wales and Scotland.

Menthol cigarettes, perceived to have a taste that is less harsh and easier to inhale, were banned in the UK in May 2020 as part of ongoing efforts to prevent young people from taking up the habit.

For an effective ban, menthol and all its analogues and derivatives should be completely prohibited in all tobacco-related products and accessories

However, while the legislation banned cigarettes with a “characterising flavour”, it did not ban menthol or its derivatives as ingredients in cigarettes and accessories.

Only about 15% of those surveyed who smoked menthol-flavoured cigarettes reported buying them 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 were probably using legal accessories including menthol-flavoured drops, filter balls or cards, or purchasing cigarettes perceived to contain menthol flavouring without being labelled as such.

Researchers used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, in which a different sample of 2,450 adults were interviewed each month.

Among young people, the prevalence of menthol cigarette smoking fell by a quarter, from 26% to 19%, suggesting that about one in five 18 to 24-year-olds still smoked menthol-flavoured cigarettes towards the end of the study period in early 2023.

The proportion of cigarettes bought illicitly or “cross-border” was similar for respondents who smoked menthol-flavoured cigarettes as for those who used non-flavoured cigarettes.

The researchers said this showed there had been no increase in purchasing from illicit sources following the menthol ban – “another example of how the (tobacco) industry’s oft-predicted surge in illicit cigarette purchases as a result of tobacco control measures did not materialise”.

These findings show why it’s vital that measures to tackle smoking don’t contain legal loopholes which can be exploited by the tobacco industry

Senior author Professor Jamie Brown, from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, said: “The UK’s menthol ban does not appear to have been effective.

“We have found that there are still around one million people who report smoking menthol-flavoured cigarettes in Britain, three years after the ‘ban’ came into force.

“Nor has there been much sign of progress during that period.

“For an effective ban, menthol and all its analogues and derivatives should be completely prohibited in all tobacco-related products and accessories.”

Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, said: “Smoking is still the leading cause of cancer, causing around 150 cancer cases across the UK every single day, so the number of people continuing to smoke menthol-flavoured cigarettes is deeply concerning.

“These findings show why it’s vital that measures to tackle smoking don’t contain legal loopholes which can be exploited by the tobacco industry.

“We support the Government’s plans to include all tobacco products in proposed legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco, which will help prevent the next generation from ever taking up smoking in the first place.”