Donnelly wants ban on €250m menthol cigarettes market made more ‘robust’

The Government says it wants the four-month-old European ban on menthol cigarettes strengthened to stop tobacco companies side-stepping it, while the European Commission told member states they have the power to take products off shop shelves.

The Health Service Executive (HSE), which polices the May 20th menthol cigarette ban that outlawed the €250 million market for them in the Republic, also says it is "actively investigating" tobacco companies here over the issue.

The ban, transposed into Irish law from a European directive, aims to prevent “characterising flavours” in cigarettes, to make them less attractive to children and help smokers quit.

Japan Tobacco International (JTI), the maker of Silk Cut, has admitted it still adds some menthol to products including a new Silk Cut Choice Green that was among a suite of new brands it introduced into the Irish market after the ban.

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However, JTI insists it is in full compliance with the ban because, it claims, the additive doesn’t make its new brand taste or smell of menthol.

Ban

When the ban came into force, however, JTI marketed Silk Cut Choice Green to Irish retailers as a replacement for its old menthol blend. Internal industry sales data shows JTI’s new brands scooped up 5 per cent of the €1.8 billion cigarette market in their first month.

After complaints from anti-smoking groups and rival tobacco companies that retired their menthol blends, the HSE said in June it would co-operate with European authorities on the issue. Governments across Europe have criticised tobacco companies for trying to get around the ban.

However, minutes for a June online meeting of the commission’s expert group on tobacco policy show that while Spain, Netherlands, Austria and France complained about the issue, the HSE, which participated in the meeting to represent Ireland, appears not to have mentioned it.

The minutes also say member states were told in June they would have new enforcement powers “within weeks”.

Stephen Donnelly, the Minister for Health, insisted last night that the directive is "being reviewed at EU level" and said he would strongly support any revisions to the directive that would ensure that the provision in relation to the menthol ban is "robust".