For more than 60 years, the tobacco industry has intentionally targeted Black Americans and other communities with marketing for menthol cigarettes – which are more addictive, easier for kids to start smoking and harder for smokers to quit than other cigarettes. The tobacco industry’s targeting of the Black community has been deliberate, sophisticated and comprehensive. The result: In the 1950s, less than 10% of Black smokers used menthol cigarettes; today it is 85%.
Menthol cigarettes have had a devastating and disproportionate impact on the health of Black Americans. Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the Black community, killing 45,000 Black Americans each year. Black Americans have a harder time quitting smoking and die at higher rates from tobacco-related diseases like cancer, heart disease and stroke.
In 2022, after more than a decade of study, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed regulations to prohibit menthol cigarettes, as well as flavored cigars. In October 2023, the FDA sent the final rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. In December 2023, the Biden Administration delayed issuing the final rule shortly after the tobacco industry met with top officials at the White House. The Biden Administration must end the delays and act to protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity and save lives, especially Black lives.
Why Eliminate Menthol Cigarettes
- MENTHOL MAKES IT EASIER FOR KIDS TO START SMOKING
Menthol cools and numbs the throat. It masks the harshness of tobacco smoke, making it easier for kids to try smoking and eventually become addicted. - MENTHOL MAKES CIGARETTES EVEN MORE ADDICTIVE AND HARDER TO QUIT
Nicotine by itself is highly addictive. Research shows that menthol actually enhances the effects of nicotine on the brain. - FOR DECADES, THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY HAS DELIBERATELY MARKETED MENTHOL CIGARETTES TO SPECIFIC POPULATIONS, ESPECIALLY BLACK AMERICANS
The popularity of menthol cigarettes among Black smokers is no accident. It’s the result of the industry’s predatory marketing through magazine ads, sponsorship of community and music events, retail promotions, and even handing out free samples in Black communities. To this day, menthol cigarettes continue to be more heavily advertised and priced cheaper in Black communities. - MENTHOL CIGARETTES HAVE HAD A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON THE HEALTH OF BLACK AMERICANS
Studies have found that menthol cigarettes were responsible for 378,000 premature deaths from 1980 to 2018. 41% of these deaths were among Black Americans. - MENTHOL IS THE ONLY CIGARETTE FLAVOR STILL ALLOWED IN THE UNITED STATES
In 2009, Congress passed a law that prohibited all other cigarette flavors, but the tobacco companies got an exemption for menthol – the flavor they use to target and addict Black Americans. - ELIMINATING MENTHOL CIGARETTES WILL SAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES, ESPECIALLY BLACK LIVES
Researchers estimate that eliminating menthol cigarettes will save up to 654,000 lives over the next 40 years, including the lives of 255,000 Black Americans. Black Americans represent over one-third of the lives that would be saved. - ELIMINATING MENTHOL CIGARETTES IS A GIANT STEP FOR THE CANCER MOONSHOT
The elimination of menthol cigarettes is one of the strongest steps the Biden Administration can take to advance the President’s Cancer Moonshot as smoking causes 30% of all cancer deaths in the U.S. and is “the biggest single driver of cancer deaths in this country,” as the Administration has stated. In addition, The Council on Foreign Relations found that a ban on menthol cigarettes will eliminate the disparity in lung cancer deaths between Black Americans and other racial and ethnic groups within 5 years – 25 years sooner otherwise. - ELIMINATING MENTHOL CIGARETTES WILL IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF OTHER GROUPS TARGETED BY THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY
Use of menthol cigarettes is disproportionately high among communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, smokers with mental health conditions, and pregnant smokers.
Supporters
The FDA’s plan is supported by a wide range of organizations, scientific experts and elected officials – including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, other Black civil rights and public health organizations, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, state attorneys general, faith leaders and many others.
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Big Tobacco is Waging a Deceptive Campaign
The tobacco industry is once again putting profits before lives and going all-out to fight the FDA’s plan. In particular, the industry is spending huge sums to exploit concerns of the Black community and peddle false claims that eliminating menthol cigarettes will lead to more law enforcement abuse. The industry’s claims are without merit and must be rejected.
The FDA has made it crystal clear that its prohibition on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars will apply to manufacturers and retailers – it will not make it illegal for individuals to possess or use these products. The FDA has stated, “Importantly, the FDA cannot and will not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars…. FDA enforcement will only address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers and retailers who manufacture, distribute, or sell such products within the U.S. that are not in compliance with applicable requirements. These proposed regulations do not include a prohibition on individual consumer possession or use.”
Reynolds American, manufacturer of the best-selling menthol brand Newport, has been particularly shameless:
An investigation by The Los Angeles Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism documented Reynolds’ funding of Black lobbyists and organizations to oppose laws prohibiting menthol cigarettes and stoke fears about criminalization.
A prominent Black pastor and civil rights leader in Detroit said he was offered more than $200,000 from Reynolds to oppose a ban on menthol cigarettes – an offer he declined.
The tobacco industry wants to preserve its ability to target Black and other communities with menthol cigarettes. The FDA must act to stop them and save lives.