Menthol cigarette ban in Canada boosted quit rates, study shows By Could banning menthol cigarettes be key to lowering smoking rates overall? New research suggests it's possible, after finding that a ban on menthol cigarettes in Canada was linked to a large increase in the number of smokers who quit. Advertisement The impact of the menthol ban in Canada suggests that a similar ban in the United States would have even greater benefits since menthol cigarettes are much more popular among Americans, the researchers said. "From our findings, we estimate that banning menthol cigarettes in the U.S. would lead an additional 923,000 smokers to quit, including 230,000 African American smokers," said researcher Geoffrey Fong.