An intersectional approach to the menthol cigarette problem: what’s race(ism) got to do with it?

Abstract

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Tobacco industry reports document the systematic targeting of menthol cigarettes in Black communities, and 84.6% of all Black smokers use menthol cigarettes. Despite evidence that menthol cigarettes are more addictive and harmful, Congress chose not to ban the sales of menthol cigarettes, despite banning all other flavored cigarettes in the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. In this commentary, we employ an intersectional framework that discusses and analyzes how institutionalized racism through the form of residential segregation has perpetuated the menthol problem. Using an intersectional framework, public health may be better able to understand and intervene on the menthol cigarette problems centering around: (1) why menthol cigarette rates are so high among Black smokers; and (2) why menthol cigarettes remain the only flavored cigarette left on the domestic market.

Keywords:

• Health inequalities
• intersectionality
• health behavior