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Tobacco Road: African Americans and menthol cigarettes

Cynthia Robinson | Posted July 9, 2008 10:08 AM

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With more than 45,000 African Americans dying each year of smoking-related diseases, the African American community should be outraged at the long history of targeted manipulation waged by the American tobacco industry.

Smoking-related illnesses are the number one cause of death among African Americans. Death from smoking-caused disease is higher among African Americans than Whites, despite the fact that African Americans typically smoke less. However, these facts are rather ironic.

Even though African Americans usually smoke less, 23 percent are current smokers, which is higher than the national rate of smoking at 20.8 percent. What's more interesting is that smoking among African American men is significantly higher than among African American women (27.6 percent compared to 19.2 percent). What are some possible contributing factors to these disparities?

We know that the harmful effects of mentholated tobacco-use on the health of African Americans are well-documented. Research confirms that menthol cigarettes do have higher levels of cotinine (the most common chemical produced by the body from nicotine) in the smoker's bloodstream than non-menthol smokers.

Seventy-five percent of African American smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to 23 percent of White smokers. African Americans may have lower cessation rates than Whites because African Americans generally have higher levels of nicotine dependence, as a consequence of high cotinine levels in mentholated cigarettes. So how are the effects of menthol impacting the health of African Americans?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the years of potential death expectancy before the age of 65 is two times higher in Black smokers than White smokers. The question to ponder is why African Americans choose to smoke mentholated tobacco.

The American tobacco industry has now spent more than 30 years aggressively targeting the African American community, which has resulted in profitable financial outcomes at the expense of African American smokers.

More interior and exterior tobacco advertising in retail outlets within low-income communities and communities with larger African American populations exist, while total expenditures for magazine advertising of mentholated cigarettes increased from 13 percent in 1998 to 49 percent in 2005. So why should African Americans be concerned about targeted marketing?

According to a 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 80 percent of all smokers start before age 18, and not surprisingly, the vast majority of kids smoke the three most heavily advertised brands. Of these brands, Newport is one of the leading cigarettes smoked by African American youth in the United States. Eight out of every ten African American youth smoke Newport cigarettes, while 42 percent of African American adults smoke this same brand.

The House of Representatives is currently considering a vote on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, H.R 1108. While this pending legislation bans candy, fruit and spice-flavored cigarettes, aimed at children and teens, it specifically exempts menthol.

The current bill is heavily backed by Philip Morris, the leading tobacco company in America. It is believed that Philip Morris actively lobbied Congress to include the menthol exemption, which is financially critical to the American tobacco industry's profit margin. Despite an effort to ensure a menthol exemption, the good news is that prevention initiatives aim to counter the initiation of smoking and improve greater access to cessation services for African American tobacco users.

The National African American Tobacco Education Network (NAATEN) is working to discourage our young people from smoking, and offering proven tobacco prevention tools for those who use tobacco.

Our Be Free Indeed Tobacco Prevention program guides pastors and church leaders on how to present a historical perspective of the relationship between African Americans and tobacco, the health risks of smoking, the dangers of secondhand smoke, the benefits of quitting, and why church leaders should actively be involved in this important social justice issue.

In addition, NAATEN completed a quitline assessment project, which assists quitline service providers with outreach efforts to African American smokers while seeking to accomplish greater quit-rates for African American smokers across the country.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, in its current form, fails to ban menthol. But this debate must remind African Americans that the tobacco industry continues, after nearly a century, to enslave our community in many creative ways.

NAATEN urges the African American community and all communities nationwide to oppose tobacco use that impacts children and adults. We must not be complacent about the number one preventable cause of death in our community.

Cynthia Robinson is the Program Coordinator for NAATEN, which is a program of the Health Education Council.

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Comments 5

Purl Gurl
2008-07-09 10:54:38

Cynthia Robinson writes, "...nearly 80 percent of all smokers start before age 18...."

Regardless of skin color, why are parents allowing their children to smoke?

Sure, kids sneak around and smoke out back of the barn. This is expected. However, why are parents allowing their children to habitually smoke?

Smoking is very dangerous. Parents who allow their children to smoke should be arrested and charged with child endangerment, yes?

Smokers are addicts, are addicted to nicotine. Barrack Obama is a nicotine addict. What happens when an addict cannot find his drug of choice? He switches to a different substitute drug.

There is a very serious flaw in your logic, Cynthia Robinson. You successfully have menthol type cigarettes banished. What will happen? Nicotine addicts will switch to a different brand.

You are not solving this problem, you are only switching drugs.

Tobacco company lose money on menthol cigarettes if menthol types are banished. Tobacco companies make more money selling brands without menthol when nicotine addicts switch to different brands. There is no change.

The logic of your objective is fatally flawed.

Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation

NO ID
2008-07-09 11:19:06

First they made us pick the tobacco, now they want to kill us with it! Gotta love the irony of that...wonder how many of our ancestors who had to pick and tend sticky tobacco plants every day in the hot Southern sun were smokers.

Purl Gurl
2008-07-09 11:45:07

Alcoholism is a very serious problem in the black community, as well as my red community. Alcoholism rates are higher amongst minority groups. Reasons for this are many and are beyond the scope of my intent.

My intent is to touch upon irresponsible parents through example of alchohol abuse which is the same as all substance abuse, and this does include tobacco.

A black girl, eleven years old, shows up in my early morning science class, staggering drunk. She is absolutely plastered; staggering, giggling, falling down, reeking of alcohol. She is sucking an alcoholic beverage from a baby bottle right there in my class.

I must bust her for this. Our laws mandate I take action or face criminal prosecution against me. Law or not, I would bust her for her own good.

I am careful, I call in another teacher, have her smell of this baby bottle, have her observe the behavior of this child. Yes, she is drinking and, yes, she is drunk. This child is busted, police are called in, evidence is collected.

Few days later, her parents file a complaint charging me with racism, "Only reason you busted our girl is because she is black." Those parents also employed a logic of alcohol effecting blacks differently than other racial groups, "Our girl was drunk only because blacks metabolize alcohol differently than others. You know this."

Huh? Your girl was not drunk because she was drinking rather she was drunk because of some wild metabolic reason?

Consequences are a need for lawyers, school board meetings, a lengthy complaint resolution process, my having to be absent from my classes many times, testimony, hearings, lots of money spent.

Oddly enough, this girl was not given a test for alcohol in her system and her baby bottle full of whiskey and coca cola, mysteriously vanished.

All suffered greatly for this, especially my students whose educations were interrupted by having substitute teachers instead of me.

Oh, the black community is in a great uproar, protests and screaming, "Damn red skin woman, hater of black children! How dare she bust a black child for being drunk in class!"

As we know, those type of people do not represent mainstream black Americans. A vast majority of our black community are responsible citizens and good citizens, along with being very good parents.

Nonetheless, this unsavory incident well exemplifies a lack of good parenting, a denial of responsibility by parents, a protective attitude to a point of deceit, all those factors and other factors lead to harm for children. Parents are almost always accountable for various substance abuse by their children, such as smoking and drinking.

Where did this child obtain her whiskey? From her parents. Doubtful this was the first time this child was drunk.

Skin color is not a factor. Irresponsible parents are a factor. This problem of dangerous habits, smoking, drinking, drug use, gang membership, crime, all that, can be traced back to bad parenting.

Skin color has nothing to do with this.

Cynthia Robinson, you and your group should be making targets of parents, should be educating parents, should be educating their children. I know you are doing this and I highly commend you for your efforts. However, ranting about menthol cigarettes is a waste of time, is a waste of resources and takes away from your ability to educate parents and children.

Should not you and your group be pressing for passage of laws which will have irresponsible parents tossed in jail for child endangerment? This would certainly encourage a lot of irresponsible parents to change their behaviors.

Yeah, yeah, ok, mandatory probation and mandatory adult education classes for first offender parents. This protects children from the foster care system. However, second offense irresponsible parents, mandatory jail time and a loss of custody of their children, at least on a temporary basis. This would be right, yes?

Britney Spears lost custody of her children, why not treat all irresponsible parents the same?

You cannot win against big business. You cannot win against big business with monetary might and political clout. You can win by partnering with parents and you can win by holding accountable those parents who refuse to partner with their children.

Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation

Jon
2008-07-09 16:07:55

Blacks are no where near the alcoholics that Native Americans are who have the highest rate of drunkenness in the country, so, as usual hurl-Kiralynne, you are wrong in yet another lame racist attempt to malign blacks, along with the off topic crackpot chid care nonsense, I hope to God you have no kids, if so, they will certainly need therapy. Smoking? Why in the world would I be outraged? No one forces or makes anyone pick up a cigarette its a choice, and, as adults its one they chose, knowing the repercussions. It is a against the law to sell tobacco products to underaged smokers, and, the law needs to be enforced.

Black Kansas City
2008-07-13 19:30:07

Okay, I do not blame anyone for smoking except the smoker. It takes time but can be stopped. It is hard but it is a matter of conviction to LIVE and SURVIVE! I smoked for years and I smoked menthols, then the black n milds, and it took me about two years to quit. The other point is that you just don't have to start smoking! When a young man's friends tell him to "hit this," they can say "no." Black Kansas City

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