AUSTRALIA
A recent analysis, led by the University of Stirling in the UK, published in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control found the market for cigarettes with flavor capsules in the filter had “grown exponentially since being introduced in 2007”.
According to the report, fruit- and mint-flavored capsules are also growing in popularity for roll-your-own cigarettes. The market share for the products increased between 2014 and 2017 in 52 of the 67 countries where they are sold and monitored by Euromonitor.
“Despite the success of this product innovation, there remains a dearth of research on capsule cigarettes. Nevertheless, existing research with adult smokers in the UK, USA, and Australia consistently shows a preference for capsules among young adults, and more than half of past-month smokers aged 12–17 years in Australia reported having tried a capsule cigarette.
Taste, choice of flavors, enjoyment from clicking the capsule, stylishness, and lower perceived harm appear key reasons for using capsule cigarettes,” said the report.
The Public Health Association of Australia is accusing the tobacco industry of “reverting to tricks and stunts” in a bid to attract young smokers. This came after analysis revealed cigarettes with flavor capsules were the fastest growing segment of the combustible tobacco market.
Head of the association, Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, said the modification of tobacco products to make them more appealing as “an extraordinary assault on public health”.
“Any modification to tobacco products which clearly aim to increase rates of smoking and target young smokers should be ruthlessly resisted,” he said. “Australia has the lowest rates of smoking in the world among young people, and we now have a situation where more than 97% of children under 18 are never-smokers. The tobacco industry is clearly seeking to reverse that success and is reverting to tricks and stunts which should not be tolerated.”