Kool is not very cool. Neither is Salem, nor Newport, but African-Americans love their menthol cigarettes - and do themselves greater harm than smokers of regular cigarettes, according to health experts attending a conference that wrapped up with a town hall meeting on the topic Monday evening at Howard University Hospital.

Nearly 80 percent of African-Americans who smoke use menthol cigarettes, William Robinson, executive director of the National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network, told BlackAmericaWeb.com in an interview before the meeting.

“We educate people about the harmful effects of smoking, the relationship of the African-American community to tobacco, and provide training and technical assistance” to organizations seeking to do tobacco control and/or grassroots organizing, he said.

Menthol cigarettes typically have more tar and nicotine than non-mentholated cigarettes; they mask the harshness of tobacco – meaning smokers smoke more, thus inhaling more toxins – and there is research that suggests menthol cigarettes are harder to quit. The tobacco industry used menthol to create “starter” cigarettes to appeal to young, first-time smokers.

Early advertising generally promoted a therapeutic effect from smoking, a sense of calm and relaxation, and menthol was depicted as smoother than regular cigarettes.

“That’s the way they were sold originally because menthol has these cooling, soothing properties,” and were used in a lot of commercial products, from balms to cigarettes, Robinson said.

Over time, even after the health risks of smoking became better known, “the industry didn’t advertise it as a healthier product, but as a feeling - feel the pleasure, feel the cool. They kept the wording that left the impression (menthol) was easier on the lungs and the throat,” said Carla Williams, chairperson of the D.C. Tobacco Free Coalition and an assistant professor of medicine at the Howard University Cancer Center.

“The tobacco industry studies the habits and traditions of a community, what works, what may work and the kind of things that attract smokers,” Robinson said, adding that the industry uses different advertising techniques and disparate pricing in poorer communities, offering incentives to retailers, to bring in new smokers.

He also said that the industry used entertainment, including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Kool Jazz Philosophy, which featured positive entertainers, including Common, the Fugees and Jamie Foxx, to draw crowds, then hosted underground parties afterwards at which tobacco products and company paraphernalia were distributed to create an environment in which smoking was acceptable.

Williams, a panelist at Monday’s town hall, told BlackAmericaWeb.com that people are aware of the health effects of smoking, but many – especially those over 40 – have trouble quitting or they use smoking cessation techniques inconsistently.

“We understand the addictive quality of cigarettes can overwhelm some,” Williams said.

In a small study of younger adults under 30, Williams said, “They are aware and want to quit, but don’t want to use evidence-based strategies proven to help. They want to do it with their own will power.”

Both Williams and Robinson said societal pressure that makes it increasingly difficult to smoke in public; education, peer and familial pressure, as well as legislative and social pressure on the tobacco industry have had an impact and can help reduce smoking in the black community.

Menthol was exempted when other additives and flavorings were banned with enactment of the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, but with pressure from anti-smoking groups, Robinson said, a provision was added that gives the Food and Drug Administration oversight of tobacco policies, including convening a panel charged with investigating the impact of menthol and mandated to produce a report.

“It’s an uphill fight,” Robinson said.

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I feel for smokers trying to quit (and I'm glad I never started). A nicotine habit is tough to kick. Keep trying, though. Your life will be better for it.

by   
CAmira
October 20, 2009, 10:00 am
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