LAUSR

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Reuse permitted under CC BYNC. No commercial reuse. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. BACKGROUND Since May 2020, cigarettes and rollyourown (RYO) tobacco with a characterising flavour of menthol have been banned in the European Union (EU) owing to the European Tobacco Products Directive (EU TPD). Other characterising flavours were banned in 2016. Cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco, heated tobacco and tobacco accessories are exempt from the ban. Despite the ban, a substantial proportion of adolescents and young adults in Denmark still smoke menthol cigarettes (29% preban vs 20% postban). 3 This may be due to tobacco industry tactics to circumvent the ban. This paper provides insights into the response of the tobacco industry to the implementation of the menthol ban in Denmark. In this case study, we identify loopholes in the characterising flavour ban and discuss how to make bans on mentholflavoured tobacco most effective. The analysis is based on screening tobacco products using online tobacco stores, and samples of cigarette packages, tobacco flavour accessories, and mentholflavoured cigarettelike products purchased between December 2019 and January 2022.