New Report Details Tobacco Industry’s Predatory Marketing of Menthol Cigarettes to Black Americans and the Devastating Health Impact
Report Released as FDA Faces April 29 Deadline to Decide Whether to Ban Menthol Cigarettes and a Growing Number of States and Cities Take Action
February 24, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report released today details the tobacco industry’s decades-long targeting of Black communities, especially kids, with marketing for menthol cigarettes and the devastating impact on the health and lives of Black Americans.
The report documents how menthol cigarettes – which are more addictive, easier for kids to start using and harder for smokers to quit – are a major reason why tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black Americans and Black Americans die at disproportionately high rates from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.
The report – titled Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives – was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; the Association of Black Cardiologists; the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council; Black Women’s Health Imperative; the Center for Black Health & Equity; the NAACP; the National Black Nurses Association; the National Medical Association; the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc.; Save a Girl, Save a World; and The Links, Incorporated.
The report was released amid growing efforts at the federal, state and local levels to prohibit menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products in order to stop the tobacco industry’s deadly targeting of Black communities, kids and other groups.
At the federal level, several public health and medical organizations have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to compel the FDA to act on its own conclusions and the conclusions of its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee that prohibiting menthol cigarettes would benefit public health in the United States. The FDA has told the court (the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) that it will issue a decision by April 29, 2021.
At the state and local level, two states – Massachusetts and California – and at least 120 localities have passed laws ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products (California’s law is on hold because the tobacco industry is seeking to overturn it through a referendum).
In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2020 passed legislation (the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act) to prohibit menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.
Key findings of the report include:
For more than 60 years, the tobacco industry has deliberately targeted the Black community, especially youth, with marketing for menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products like flavored cigars. Since the 1950s, the industry has targeted Black Americans with pervasive marketing of menthol cigarettes through magazine advertising, sponsorship of community and music events, free samples of cigarettes, retail promotions and other tactics. In the 1950s, less than 10% of Black smokers used menthol cigarettes. Today, that number is 85%. Menthol cigarettes continue to be heavily advertised, widely available and priced cheaper in Black communities, making them especially appealing to price-sensitive youth.
The tobacco industry is now using the same strategies to target Black youth with marketing for cheap, flavored cigars, some of which can be smoked like cigarettes. In 2020, cigars were the most commonly used tobacco product among Black high school students.
The tobacco industry’s predatory marketing has had a devastating impact on the health of Black Americans. Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black Americans, claiming 45,000 Black lives every year. Tobacco use is a major contributor to three of the leading causes of death among Black Americans – heart disease, cancer and stroke – and Black Americans die from these conditions at far higher rates than other Americans. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the Black community. Now, Black Americans are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that smoking increases the risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
Menthol cigarettes are a major reason why Black Americans suffer disproportionately from tobacco use. The cooling mint flavor of menthol numbs the throat and reduces the harshness of tobacco smoke, making menthol cigarettes more appealing and easier to use for young people who are starting to smoke. As a result, menthol cigarettes increase the number of youth and young adults who experiment with cigarettes and become regular smokers. Research also demonstrates that menthol cigarettes are more addictive and harder to quit, magnifying the public health impact on Black communities.
Strong action is needed to protect Black health and save lives, starting with the elimination of menthol cigarettes and all flavored tobacco products. The FDA has the authority to take such action, but has failed to act despite repeatedly concluding that prohibiting menthol cigarettes would benefit public health in the United States.
Comprehensive scientific reviews by the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) in 2011 and the FDA itself in 2013 found that menthol cigarettes cause substantial harm to public health beyond that caused by other cigarettes. TPSAC concluded, “Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.” The FDA itself found that menthol cigarettes are associated with increased smoking initiation among youth and young adults, greater addiction and reduced success in quitting smoking, particularly among Black smokers.
The new report concludes, “These findings demonstrate that the FDA has more than enough evidence to prohibit menthol cigarettes.”
Background on April 29th Deadline for FDA Decision on Menthol Cigarettes
In June 2020, several public health and medical organizations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting that the FDA’s failure to take action on menthol cigarettes constituted “unreasonable delay” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. Among other claims, the lawsuit asserts that the FDA has unreasonably delayed responding to a Citizen Petition, filed in April 2013 by various public health organizations, calling on the FDA to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes. In a filing with the court on January 21, 2021, the FDA committed to issuing “a final citizen petition response” by April 29, 2021. The plaintiffs in the case are the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), Action on Smoking and Health, the American Medical Association and the National Medical Association. The lawsuit was filed after years of grassroots activity by AATCLC, the Center for Black Health & Equity and other organizations to raise awareness about the need to take action and eliminate menthol cigarettes.
