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Some U.S. historical policies and practices have led to mental and physical health risks and challenges, and related long-term health outcomes, for African American people. For example:
Other reasons—like the ones explored below—help explain why the health of African American people is affected by commercial tobacco.
Marketing plays a big role in whether people try or use commercial tobacco products. Being around commercial tobacco ads makes smoking appear more appealing and increases the chance that someone will try smoking for the first time or start using commercial tobacco products regularly:1516
To help protect African American people from commercial tobacco marketing and discourage tobacco use, states and communities could consider increasing prices and prohibiting price discounts, prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, and either allowing fewer stores in a neighborhood to sell commercial tobacco products or prohibiting tobacco product sales altogether.21
Menthol has a minty flavor that can mask the harsh taste of tobacco. Menthol makes cigarette smoke feel easier to inhale and can make it harder to quit smoking.222324 To attract African American people as customers, tobacco companies target African American communities with advertising and sales of flavored cigarettes—especially those with menthol.1
Tobacco companies have aggressively marketed menthol cigarettes to African American people since at least the 1950s and continue to do so today.125
There are actions that states and communities can take to make flavored commercial tobacco products less available, which might help more African American people quit smoking (and might keep some African American people from starting to smoke).3233
Stress, such as that caused by financial problems, discrimination, or violence, can make people in general more likely to smoke.36
Racism and discrimination are constant sources of stress for many African American people.37 In 2019, the majority of African American people said they had personally been discriminated against because of their race. 38The pressure of discrimination has been associated with starting to use tobacco 3940and can also make it harder to quit.36
Health care itself can be a source of discrimination. One in three Black adults say they have personally experienced racial discrimination when going to the doctor—and many report avoiding seeking medical care because of it.41
When people experience severe or long-lasting forms of stress, their bodies respond by raising stress hormones and keeping them raised. When this goes on for a long time, they may develop health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes.4243 Smoking cigarettes also leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.44
There are differences in tobacco use, access to prevention services, and cessation treatments for tobacco use among specific populations.
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