1y ago

Menthol cigarettes are killing Black Americans. Advocates are suing the government to change that

www.theguardian.com

11 comments

This will not help any addicts to quit. I'm guessing they're hoping this will stop creating new addicts?
I'm not so sure. I'm not black, but I did used to smoke menthols when I smoked. If they weren't available... I just sucked it up and smoked regular cigarettes. The important thing in the end was that nicotine hit.
- I think that most smokers don't even like menthols. When I used to smoke, and someone would ask to bum a cigarette from me, I'd always say "sure, but they're menthols" and the majority of the time they would decline.
  
  I mean I liked my Newports when I smoked. I was never a big time smoker but my grandpa was a two pack a day Kools smoker back in the day. We liked them. My dad and one of my brothers where big time wintergreen dippers as well
  These days I mostly smoke a cigar a few times a year with some buddies while grilling.
  
  I am always reminded of the TMNT movie, kid goes to join the foot clan and the recruiter(?) offers him a carton of cigarettes and asks "regular, or menthol", winks, and then tosses the menthol at a random person.
  
  From what I understand (and someone please do correct me if I'm wrong), they're quite popular in the black community amongst people who smoke.
- This reminds me of the increased regulations they imposed on flavored cigarettes years ago and I could remember an interview with a farmer worrying about his crop of burley tobacco also potentially getting banned because even though it's tobacco it has a drastically different, much sweeter flavor. I suspect this is because it's not about regulation to many people as much as it's about moving another step towards totally outlawing tobacco.
  
  I'm not in favor of outlawing it, but if you're going to outlaw cannabis, which is less dangerous and mostly just psychologically addictive, you should outlaw tobacco. It's a ridiculous double-standard.
Menthol cigarettes were historically and still are targeted at the black community. Menthol was added as a flavor to cover up the harsher taste of cheaper tobacco. There have been some studies that indicate that menthol makes it easier for kids to start smoking, but there’s not been a full consensus on this. It’s also popular in working class white communities, but cigarette makers specifically targeted black communities. In the 1970s, for example, the gains made by the civil rights movement resulted in increased social and economic integration, which was associated with the phrase “Moving up.” Those of you old enough to remember the sitcom The Jeffersons might remember that phrase. Newport came out with an ad campaign targeted at the black community around the slogan “Move up to the great taste of Newport.” At one point they even tried to debut a brand called Uptown.
The US has banned flavored cigarettes for a while now because flavors are associated with inducing smoking. Menthol got a carve-out when that regulation was approved due to political pressure. Without the carve-out, it’s unlikely the regulation would have been approved. This is a move that’s been anticipated for a while, but required time and the decrease in the political fortunes of big tobacco to get passed. I don’t know if this is going to be successful, but we will see.

11 comments