How Tobacco Companies Targeted Black Americans With Menthol Cigarettes

Why do so many Black American smokers use menthol cigarettes? The answer isn’t simply personal preference. For decades, tobacco companies deliberately marketed menthol cigarettes to Black communities. And their own documents help tell the story. In the 1960s, tobacco companies were already looking for ways to expand menthol sales among Black consumers. They used neighborhood businesses, local advertising, and free samples to build demand. Menthol cigarettes were promoted as refreshing, smooth, and soothing. But menthol doesn’t make smoking safe. It can reduce the harsh sensation of cigarette smoke, making cigarettes easier to inhale. Then the marketing expanded. Brown & Williamson, the company behind Kool cigarettes, sponsored jazz events and used music to associate its brand with Black culture. The Kool Jazz Festival became one of the most recognizable examples. After cigarette advertising disappeared from American television and radio in 1971, tobacco companies continued advertising through billboards, magazines, retail promotions, and community events. Black-oriented publications became important advertising channels. And the marketing worked alongside broader patterns of cigarette availability, brand loyalty, and social influence. Then came 1990. R.J. Reynolds planned to introduce a new menthol cigarette brand called: Uptown. The proposed brand was designed for Black smokers. Its marketing featured upscale urban imagery, distinctive packaging, and a planned test launch in Philadelphia. But public health advocates pushed back. On January 18, 1990, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan publicly condemned the campaign as deliberately targeting Black Americans. The controversy intensified. And R.J. Reynolds canceled the Uptown test marketing plan. But the broader menthol market remained. In 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The law prohibited cigarettes with most characterizing flavors. Menthol was exempted from that prohibition. And the disparity persisted. CDC data have shown that approximately 85% of non-Hispanic Black adults who smoke cigarettes use menthol cigarettes, compared with roughly 30% of non-Hispanic white adults who smoke. Those figures describe menthol use among people who smoke—not the percentage of all Black Americans who smoke. That distinction matters. The tobacco industry didn’t invent every consumer preference. But its documents show that it deliberately cultivated menthol demand among Black Americans for decades. The preference wasn’t created in a vacuum. It was shaped by a multibillion-dollar industry that knew exactly whom it wanted to reach. #BlackHistory #MentholCigarettes #TobaccoIndustry #PublicHealth #KoolCigarettes #UptownCigarettes #LouisSullivan #AmericanHistory #HistoryTok #blackhistoryfacts