Article Spotlight: The African American Youth Smoking Experience: An Overview

Garrett BE, Gardiner PS, Wright LT, Pechacek TF. The African American Youth Smoking Experience: An Overview. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2016 Apr;18 Suppl 1:S11-5. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv203.

Beginning in the late 1970s, a very sharp decline in cigarette smoking prevalence was observed among African American (AA) high school seniors compared with a more modest decline among whites. This paper provides an account of past influences on cigarette smoking behavior among AA youth to help understand the reasons for these historically lower rates of cigarette smoking and argues the efforts of the tobacco industry have prevented the effectiveness of certain protective factors (price, religion, sports participation, parental opposition, etc) from carrying over into adulthood. While AA youth continue to have a lower prevalence of cigarette smoking than white youth, they are still at risk of increasing their smoking behavior due to aggressive targeted marketing by the tobacco industry.

• MENTHOL - EVENT SPONSORSHIP MARLBORO MENTHOL INNER CITY BAR NIGHTS. (1989).
  The tobacco industry launched campaigns specifically targeted to African American youth. For example, the Marlboro Menthol Inner City Black Bar Program, developed in the late 1980s, expanded in the 1990s and included games, giveaways, and amateur Marlboro Music talent contests.


• Hawkins SC, RJ Reynolds. MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT. PROJECT UT CREATIVE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH. (1989).
  RJ Reynolds test-marketed Uptown menthol cigarettes in Philadelphia with the slogan “the uptown flavor with the downtown price” and sponsored several cultural and inner-city nightclub events with free pack giveaways. The Uptown theme focused on style, music, nightlife, and entertainment and was specifically targeted to the AA community.


• 1990 New Marketing Ideas (1989).
  "The Fat Boys campaign, a Black inner city targeted brand, was launched by RJ Reynolds in the early 1990s. The Fat Boys campaign focused on the “environment and interests of inner-city Blacks” as well as rap music. The product packaging had a brick wall and graffiti design. Advertising for the product featured young AA males that strongly resembled leading characters of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air —a popular 1990s sitcom that appealed to many urban youth. Like Uptown, Fat Boys were mentholated and available in packages of 10 to address price sensitivity for AA smokers."


• Hong, Peter, LA Times.'MAKER OF MENTHOL X CIGARETTES AGREES TO PULL IT AFTER PROTESTS' (1995).
  During Black History Month in 1995, Menthol X cigarettes were launched in stores around Massachusetts.