Ban on menthol cigarettes: European Union member statesshall prohibit the placing on the market of tobacco productswith a characterising flavour

A European Union (EU) wide ban on menthol cigarettes sales went into effect on 20 May 2020 following the Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products, repealing Directive 2001/37/EC 1 .The regulation on characterising flavours is one of the key changes for tobacco products sold in 27 EU Member States and United Kingdom under the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), which came into force in 2016.As stated in the European Commission's press release:'Cigarettes and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco products may no longer have characterising flavours such as menthol, vanilla or candy that mask the taste and smell of tobacco.In the case of products with more than a 3% market share (e.g.menthol), the ban will apply as of 2020'.Cigars, cigarillos and snus are exempt from this ban 2 .