Big Tobacco has a history of using predatory marketing tactics against vulnerable communities. They profiled black communities, appropriated black culture in their ads, and flooded majority-Black neighborhoods with menthol cigarette marketing. Today, eighty-five percent of African American smokers use menthols. Not to mention flavored cigarettes attract young, first-time smokers—81% of youth who have ever used tobacco started with a flavored product.
Today, Big Tobacco continues their decades-long fight to protect menthols. Menthols alone have raked in $33 billion in profits for them. In fact, 64% of young adult smokers said they would quit smoking altogether if menthols were banned.
We know that hundreds of thousands of lives could be lost by 2050 if menthols stay on the market. It’s time to fight back and keep Big Tobacco out of our communities. Want to get involved? Click here to join the fight against the forces and impacts of addiction.