Cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco with added flavours, such as menthol, rum and cloves, can no longer be sold in Australia.

While this means a change for people who use flavoured tobacco, it’s also a great time to think about quitting smoking.

Flavour additives like menthol, including those in the filters of crushball cigarettes, made smoke feel less harsh. But flavoured products are just as harmful as regular cigarettes, plus they’re more addictive, especially for young people. Laws about the sale of these products have changed to protect people who use them.

Why are menthol and other flavours no longer for sale?

Without the tobacco industry adding chemical flavours, people who smoke will now feel the true harshness of cigarettes. 

Here are some ideas to help you take those first steps towards a future without cigarettes.

Talk to your doctor

Your GP will be able to you about medications that manage withdrawal from nicotine and discuss which ones might be best for you. A GP can answer any other questions you might have about quitting and suggest extra supports, such as Quitline.

Make a plan

Many people who want to quit smoking simply try to give up on the spot. And while “cold turkey” works for some, there are other ways to quit.

Experts agree that making a plan can be useful. Thinking about why you smoke and why you want to quit, as well as setting a quit date, can help you map out a tobacco-free future.

You can use our free quit tool to make your own plan. If you’re still thinking about it, we have lots of stories about the health benefits of quitting and you can work out the money you’ll save when you no longer buy cigarettes.

Remember, it’s normal for people to make several tries before they stop smoking for good. See what motivated Henry to change and how he quit.

Support helps

You don’t have to go it alone. Research shows that support – from your doctor, from nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or from family and friends – makes it more likely that you’ll reach your quit goal.

Quit is here to help, too, with stories, free services, apps and tools that can help you stop smoking.

• Quitline and Aboriginal Quitline’s friendly and experienced counsellors are ready to listen. There are different ways to contact Quitline, and we have services that can support people who speak a language other than English or who have hearing or speech impairments.
• My QuitBuddy app is free and provides facts, tips and distractions to help overcome feelings of nicotine withdrawal while tracking your progress.

For more on Australia’s new tobacco laws:

Tobacco laws in Australia have changed. Here’s what you need… | Quit

Information for consumers on changes to tobacco products | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing