Panel discusses tobacco companies targeting Blacks

Black leaders in California expressed the need to fight against the tobacco industries that target Blacks using education within the Black communities on Thursday. 　

“We’re here to say enough is enough,” said Sharon Eubanks, the former government prosecutor who led the landmark 2005 lawsuit against tobacco companies.

Advertisements of menthol cigarettes have often targeted Black communities, according to panel speakers, leading to a nicotine addiction amongst Black youths. Menthol cigarettes are harder to quit but easier for youths to take up because of the minty flavor and cooling sensation, Eubanks said.

According to the California Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program, 70 percent of Black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes compared to the remainder of 30 percent White smokers.

For over 50 years the tobacco industry has targeted Blacks through the use of advertisements. There are more menthol cigarette ads in Black magazines than the general population magazine, according to the California Tobacco Control Program.

Many ads by cigarette companies such as Kool and Newport have been displayed in Leimert Park neighborhood in Los Angeles where tobacco control activists spoke about the health effects and risks in the Black community attributable to tobacco use.

From 1990 to 2005, Blacks have had the highest smoking percentage compared to Whites, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Blacks are targeted because “we have less resistance to the tobacco industry,” said Reverend Anthony Evans, the president of the National Black Church initiative (NBCI) who oversees a national network of 16,000 faith-based communities. NBCI dedicates energy and time to promote good health practice through educational seminars, comprehensive literature about various illnesses and diseases, and community outreach.

Evans explained that because the rich tobacco industry spends millions and millions of dollars in advertisements to Black periodicals, negative articles are not published. Black periodicals are then politically manipulated not to talk about these issues as well.

Although statistics there has been a decline over the years of tobacco smokers, Blacks remain at the top of the chart. According to Evans, this is in part due to a federal law prohibiting youth targeted ads, which decreased advertising within the Black community, and increased availability of information regarding the harm of tobacco products.

According to the California Tobacco Control Program 47,000 Blacks die from smoking and is the key contributor to the three major causes of death among the Blacks. Blacks also have twice the risk of stroke compared to the other population groups. Smoking doubles the risk for a stroke, and makes Blacks even more vulnerable.

Black men have the highest overall rates of new cancer diagnosis and cancer related deaths. Black woman are second to White women in the rate of new cancer diagnosis.

“We are using the moral force of the African American churches to give more information and education which will drive down the statistics,” Evans said.