Protecting public health by rejecting the financial influence of the tobacco industry

Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Leadership Council for Tobacco Control (AATCLC), highlights how the tobacco industry has deliberately targeted Black communities with aggressive menthol tobacco campaigns. In STOP's video series "Lives at Stake: True Stories of People Challenging Big Tobacco," she demonstrates her commitment and emphasizes the urgent need to reject the industry's financial influence to protect the most vulnerable populations.[1].

Menthol cigarettes specifically target African Americans

Carol McGruder explains that in American TV series, when a black character smokes, there is often a good chance that it is Newport menthol cigarettes, as in On wiretap (The Wire), where these cigarettes appear in almost every episode. She points out that 80 to 85 percent of black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, compared to 29 percent of white smokers[2] and 43 % of adult smokers in general. This results in an increased risk of smoking-related diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

These cigarettes, easier to start and harder to quit, are responsible for many deaths and illnesses among Black Americans, with 45,000 deaths each year. This phenomenon is due to systematic racist targeting, a fight that McGruder and his colleagues are continuing, especially after the Trump administration withdrew the proposed menthol ban.[3].

Community targeting since the 1960s

In the video series "Lives at Stake: True Stories of People Challenging Big Tobacco," Carol McGruder explains that her fight against the tobacco industry began in the 1990s, when the industry had been intensely targeting Black communities with menthol campaigns for decades. As early as the 1960s, menthol ads were plastered in Black neighborhoods and in magazines like Ebony And JetIn the 1970s, RJ Reynolds researched how to target buses frequented by black people and distributed free menthol cigarettes in cities.

Despite current bans on tobacco advertising, the industry continues to target this community, as in 2020, when brands used the slogan "Black Lives Matter" to promote their products. A 2021 study found that menthol cigarette promotions were more common in Black neighborhoods, where they are more affordable and advertised. McGruder points out that the industry continues to develop strategies to keep this addiction alive.[4], like African-American children who were targeted by menthol advertisements[5], according to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Changing mentality means rejecting help from the tobacco and nicotine industry

Carol McGruder is supported by several Black organizations, such as Delta Sigma Theta, the National Medical Association, and the NAACP, which are calling for a ban on menthol cigarettes. Although some cities and states have already banned menthol, the FDA's 2021 proposal was suspended until 2024 and withdrawn in 2025. Such a ban could save 255,000 Black lives over 40 years, but would hurt tobacco industry profits.

Reynolds American, the maker of Newports, reportedly funded anti-ban campaigns and groups spreading false messages about its effects. McGruder is calling on Black organizations to reject tobacco industry money.

Carol McGruder insists that tobacco industry funding is simply a way to buy silence and prevent genuine public health action. She calls on organizations and policymakers to refuse this funding so as not to compromise tobacco control and protect vulnerable populations.

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[1] STOP, For Advocates, 'There's No Upside to Dealing With the Industry', published March 13, 2025, accessed March 14, 2025

[2] Tobacco-free generation, Wisconsin: an awareness campaign to warn about the consumption of menthol tobacco, published January 22, 2025, accessed March 14, 2025

[3] Tobacco-free generation, Trump administration buries menthol cigarette ban, published January 30, 2025, accessed March 14, 2025

[4] Tobacco-free generation, United States: Significant disparities in smoking rates across population groups, published November 23, 2024, accessed March 14, 2025

[5] Tobacco-free generation, World No Tobacco Day: Tobacco industry violates children's rights, published May 24, 2024, accessed March 14, 2025

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