Demographic predictors of menthol cigarette and flavored e-cigarette restriction policy support among a cross-sectional sample of U.S. adults

Flavored tobacco sales restriction policies, including menthol cigarette restriction policies and flavored e-cigarette restriction policies, reduce access to tobacco products that are easier to initiate and harder to quit. Flavored products are targeted to minority populations, including African American and Black and LGBT+ communities. This work aims to understand if these minoritized communities report differences in support for flavor policies, which address products that are marketed to their communities. A 2025 non-probability sample of N = 1542 U.S. adults were asked how much they support banning menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes. Participants provided demographic information including sexual orientation, gender identity, sex at birth, and race/ethnicity. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate race/ethnicity and LGBT+ identity as predictors of flavored tobacco policy support. No significant relationship was found between racial/ethnic identity and support for a menthol ban. LGBT+ identity predicted lower odds of support for a flavored e-cigarette restriction policy (aOR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.93). There is no evidence of differential support for a menthol cigarette ban according to race/ethnicity and there is lower support of a flavored e-cigarette ban among LGBT+ adults. Further research is needed to inform messaging strategies to mobilize support among these populations.