Commercial Tobacco Use
Flavors and Industry Targeting

Flavored commercial tobacco products often include cigars, e-cigarettes (vapes), shisha, as well as smokeless products like chew or nicotine pouches. Flavored commercial tobacco products are a major public health concern. The tobacco and nicotine industry uses flavors to market its products and attract new customers in specific communities, like young people, communities of color, and other population groups. Flavored commercial tobacco products can also be harder to quit.

On this page:
How the industry uses flavors 
Flavored product use in Minnesota
Federal restrictions on flavored cigarettes
Statewide prohibition of deceptive vaping products
How communities can take action to protect youth
Free help to quit smoking or vaping

How the industry uses flavors 

The tobacco and nicotine industry uses flavors to attract and retain customers. The industry sells products in thousands of flavors – in fact, vapes alone are sold in over 15,000 fruit, candy, and dessert-like flavors. 

• Easier to start using: Flavors like mint or menthol provide a cooling and numbing sensation that reduces the harshness and irritation when a person inhales. This unique property makes menthol products feel smoother and easier to use – menthol can mask the initial discomfort of smoking or vaping, which is particularly appealing to young people and those first starting to smoke or vape.
• Flavor innovation: Tobacco and nicotine companies use flavor capsules, infused papers, and “concept” flavors like “arctic air” to promote products and bypass flavor restrictions.
• Packaging and branding: Bright colors, sleek designs, and unique flavor names are used to make products look fun and harmless.
• False health claims: Some products are labeled as “organic” or “plant-based”, which may falsely suggest they’re safer.
• Targeted advertising: Tobacco and nicotine companies use flavors to target specific communities.

Community targeting with menthol

Menthol, the most popular commercial tobacco product flavor, is minty and produces a cool and numbing sensation. The industry’s own documents have exposed their efforts to market menthol products to specific population groups, like African Americans, LGBTQ+ communities, and young people.

Menthol smoking contributes to these disparities with greater nicotine dependence; making it harder for people to try to quit and less likely they will succeed in quitting. Menthol interacts with the brain in a way that enhances the effects of nicotine, making menthol commercial tobacco products more addictive and harder to quit. Research shows that people who smoke menthol products, especially African Americans and other populations specifically targeted by the tobacco industry, are less likely to successfully quit smoking than people who smoke non-menthol products. 

Flavored product use in Minnesota

The tobacco and nicotine industry has historically used aggressive and predatory marketing tactics to target specific communities with flavored and menthol commercial tobacco products, contributing to health disparities and higher rates of use.

Youth vaping and nicotine exposure

Most youth who use commercial tobacco use a flavored product. Flavored products appeal to young people, and the flavorings – especially menthol – can mask the harshness felt by inhaling the product’s smoke or aerosol. Data from the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey show that youth who use commercial tobacco primarily use vapes. Among 11th grade students who vape, most (89%) reported vaping flavored e-cigarettes. Of the flavors used, fruit and menthol or mint were the most popular.

Flavored commercial tobacco products expose youth to highly addictive nicotine. Nicotine is the addictive chemical found in cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other commercial tobacco products. Some e-cigarettes may contain as much nicotine as an entire carton of cigarettes. Nicotine affects the brain, especially in young people, and can lead to long-term addiction and mental health problems. Learn more: Nicotine and Nicotine Dependence

African American communities and menthol

Among Minnesota adults who smoke, 73.6% of Black Minnesotan’s smoke menthol compared to 25.8% of Minnesota adults overall, according to 2024 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Black Americans face a disproportionate burden from commercial tobacco-related diseases, including some of the highest incidence and mortality rates for overall cancer and lung cancer compared with other racial or ethnic groups. 

Federal restrictions on flavored cigarettes

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate commercial tobacco products and restrict most flavors in cigarettes (like fruit, candy, and spice) to curb youth appeal. However, it made a notable exception for menthol.

Exemptions for menthol

Menthol is regulated differently than other flavored commercial tobacco products. While the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act restricted the sale of flavors, menthol was explicitly left out, with the law directing the FDA to conduct further research on its public health impact. Since then, public health organizations have consistently advocated for a complete removal of all flavored commercial tobacco products from the marketplace, citing overwhelming evidence that menthol increases addiction, reduces quitting rates, and disproportionately harms specific communities.

The FDA had proposed rules to restrict the sale of menthol commercial tobacco products, but rulemaking was delayed multiple times and eventually canceled, highlighting the ongoing political and legal battles over this issue. 

Learn more: Proposed Menthol Rules Withdrawn: Litigation Continues | Public Health Law Center

Statewide prohibition of deceptive vaping products

As of August 2024, Minnesota state law prohibits the marketing, sale, and distribution of deceptive vaping products, including e-cigarettes or vapes that are designed to appeal to youth by imitating food or candy, school supplies, or pop-culture characters. This includes products that:

• Imitate other products like food, candy, beverages, or desserts commonly marketed to minors.
• Can be disguised as school supplies, like highlighters, pens, pencils, or erasers.
• Depict pop-culture celebrities or characters from video games, movies, or comic books, and known to appeal to youth.
• Conceals the nature of the product from parents, teachers, or other adults.

Learn more: 2025 Minnesota Statutes: 325F.7821 Prohibition on Deceptive Vapor Products

How communities can take action to protect youth

Effective prevention requires a multi-faceted approach, including statewide and community programs, mass media campaigns, and policy change. Communities across the state are working to reduce youth commercial tobacco use, like smoking and vaping, by:

• Adopting updated Tobacco 21 policies to align with state and federal laws and remove purchase, use, and possession penalties.
• Restricting the sale of all flavored products, without exemptions.
• Increasing product prices.
• Reduce the number of retailers in the community and around schools and parks.
• Promoting smoke- and commercial-tobacco-free environments.

These initiatives aim to shift societal norms towards commercial tobacco-free living. Prioritizing youth and young adults is essential, as most people who use commercial tobacco begin before the age of 26.

Community support for flavor restrictions, including menthol

Many Minnesota communities have already restricted the sale of flavored and menthol products. As of April 2026, over 30% of Minnesotans now live in communities that restrict the sale of flavored commercial tobacco products. Learn more: Flavored Tobacco | Association for Non-smokers – Minnesota

In 2015, the African American Leadership Forum – in partnership with Hennepin County Public Health, Bloomington Public Health, Minneapolis Health Department and St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health – surveyed residents to learn about menthol commercial tobacco use in local communities. Survey results reinforce the need to educate and raise awareness on the harms of menthol commercial tobacco use, and they also show that a majority of African American community members support new laws to reduce tobacco’s harm. Learn more: 2015 Menthol Cigarette Intervention Grant

Free help to quit smoking or vaping

Most people who smoke, vape, or use dip or chew want to quit. Quitting has both immediate and long-term health benefits. It also helps protect family and friends who may be exposed to secondhand smoke or aerosol, especially infants and those who may have asthma or other chronic health issues.

Free help is available to all people who live in Minnesota. People who use phone coaching and quit medications are twice as likely to successfully quit. Learn more: Get Help Quitting | Commercial Tobacco Use

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