FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS ATTRACT & ADDICT OHUR YOUT - INFORMATION ABOUT MENTHOL BANS AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY

Aug 27, 2026

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Menthol and flavored tobacco products increase initiation and nicotine addiction among youth, with data indicating most young users begin with flavored products and many smokers use menthol cigarettes. The document highlights disproportionate harm to Black communities, citing decades of targeted marketing that fuels longstanding addiction and severe health disparities. It argues menthol bans do not drive illicit markets based on international evidence, addresses concerns about unjust criminalization by clarifying enforcement limits, and notes regulatory timelines that make proactive local action necessary while FDA processes proceed slowly.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Flavored tobacco products and youth addiction

Menthol products and racial health disparities

Information about menthol bans and the Black community

Claim vs. evidence on illicit markets

Criminalization concerns and enforcement scope

FDA timeline and need for proactive local bans

Flavored tobacco vs. flavored cannabis question

FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS ATTRACT & ADDICT OHUR YOUT Menthol makes it easier to start and harder to quit. More than 80% of youth who have ever tried tobacco started with a flavored product.1 280,000 of New York’s youth now under 18 are projected to die prematurely from smoking.3 More than half (54%) of youth ages 12-17 years who smoke use menthol cigarettes.2 To get around the 2009 federal ban on flavored cigarettes, the tobacco industry sells “little cigars”— similar to cigarettes in shape, size, filters and packaging—in a wide range of sweet and fruity flavors popular with youth. The tobacco industry’s decades-long targeting of Black Americans with menthol products has caused devastating health disparities. • Overall, 85% of African American smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared to 29% of White smokers. • African American people usually start smoking at an older age than White people do but are more likely to die from smoking-related disease. 1 “Flavored Tobacco Products Attract Kids: Brief Overview of Key Issues.” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2022. [https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0399.pdf](https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0399.pdf). 2 “Menthol and Cigarettes.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated July 16, 2021. [https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/tobacco_industry/menthol-cigarettes/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/tobacco_industry/menthol-cigarettes/index.html) 3 “The Toll of Tobacco in New York.” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, updated Jan. 20, 2023. [https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/new_york](https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/new_york) 4 “Tobacco Use Among African Americans.” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 2021. [https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0006.pdf](https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0006.pdf) 5 Delnevo, CD, et al.,“Banning Menthol Cigarettes: A Social Justice Issue Long Overdue,” Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 22(10): 1673-1675, 2020. 6 “African American Communities Experience a Health Burden from Commercial Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Smoking & Tobacco Use. June 2022. [https://www.cdc.gov/](https://www.cdc.gov/)[ ](https://www.cdc.gov/)[tobacco/health-equity/african-american/health-burden.html](tobacco/health-equity/african-american/health-burden.html) INFORMATION ABOUT MENTHOL BANS AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY The tobacco industry created a narrative that communities of color CHOOSE menthol tobacco products and that taking them off the market would be an injustice. WRONG! The reality is that Big Tobacco has TARGETED communities of color for decades. By PUSHING menthol products directly into these communities, the tobacco industry has created generations of long-term nicotine addiction and devastating health consequences for huge profits. Q. Won’t a menthol ban just create an illicit market? A. No. The Tobacco Industry likes to make that claim because what’s good for public health is bad for Big Tobacco’s bottom line. But data from countries that have banned menthol doesn’t back that up. In fact, recent research shows that after Canada’s menthol ban, there was no increase in the illicit purchase of menthol or non-menthol cigarettes from the main source of illicit cigarettes in that country. Surveys show that a ban would encourage Black Americans to quit menthol rather than seek them from an illicit market. Q. Won’t a ban on menthol increase the potential for unjustly criminalizing Black Americans and put them at risk? A. That’s a scare tactic the tobacco industry pays its spokespersons to use to strike fear in the Black community—the community most harmed by Big Tobacco’s aggressive and targeted menthol marketing that’s gone on for decades. A menthol ban BANS THE MANUFACTURE and RETAIL SALE of menthol tobacco products. There are no penalties or law enforcement for INDIVIDUALS who purchase, possess,

FAQs

Why does the document say flavored tobacco products are more likely to attract youth?

It states that menthol makes tobacco easier to start and harder to quit, and that a large share of youth who tried tobacco first used a flavored product. It also reports that many youth smokers use menthol cigarettes.

What health disparities does the document link to menthol products and marketing?

It explains that the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans with menthol for decades, leading to devastating health disparities. The text cites higher menthol use among African American smokers and greater risk of death from smoking-related disease.

What does the document say about whether a menthol ban would create an illicit market?

It argues that data from countries banning menthol does not show increases in illicit purchases from the main illicit sources. It also notes surveys suggesting a ban would encourage quitting menthol rather than seeking it illicitly.

Does the document claim menthol bans lead to penalties for individuals who use the products?

No. It states that a menthol ban bans manufacture and retail sale, and that there are no penalties or law enforcement for individuals who purchase, possess, or use menthol products.

Aug 27, 2026

Upload by Angel