A U.S. Menthol Ban Could Save 255,000 Black Lives
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on March 13, 2025
Watch an American TV show. If a Black character is smoking, chances are they’re pulling menthol cigarettes from a green box.
“On the show ‘The Wire,’ they should have given Newports a costarring role because Newports was in every episode,” says Carol McGruder, Co-Chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC).
Media portrayals of Black people smoking menthol cigarettes reflect a harsh reality: In the United States, about 80% of Black smokers smoke menthols, compared to about 43% of adult smokers overall. Menthol cigarettes are known for being easier to start and harder to quit, contributing to disproportionate tobacco-related illness and death among Black Americans.
Every year, tobacco use kills 45,000 Black people in the U.S. “When those people die, it destabilizes our families, it destabilizes our communities, and it causes irreparable, intergenerational harm,” says McGruder.
This disproportionate use of menthol tobacco in the Black community isn’t by chance. It’s the result of “relentless, pernicious, racist targeting,” says McGruder, and it’s what she and her colleagues are working to stop. With the recent withdrawal of the proposed menthol ban in the U.S., this work is more important than ever.
