Menthol ban would undo years of marketing to African Americans
Menthol ban would undo years of marketing to African Americans
The FDA has proposed restricting flavored e-cigarettes and banning menthol cigarettes, which are disproportionately smoked by African-Americans.
After World War II, cigarette companies were trying to figure out how to market to a still segregated but new black middle class. They found 5 percent of blacks preferred menthol, as compared to 3 percent of whites, said Phillip Gardiner, who studies tobacco use for the University of California.
“They said, well, we could use that little difference. They had different smokes for different folks,” he said.
That continued through the ’60s and ’70s. Kool and Newport advertised in Essence and Ebony, and Kool sponsored black music festivals. Menthol cigarettes were cheaper in black communities. By the ’90s, even Biggie Smalls was rapping about them.
Today, nearly nine out of 10 black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. Andrea Villanti is a professor of psychology at the University of Vermont. She said a menthol cigarette ban will affect black communities.
“We would expect that they would be potentially less exposed to tobacco marketing,” she said.
And with blacks disproportionately affected by smoking-related diseases, that may be a good thing.
Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
