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Some policies and practices have led to mental and physical health risks and challenges, and related long-term health outcomes, for people with low socioeconomic status (SES).
People with low SES have been harmed by unjust practices related to the sale of commercial tobacco.A Tobacco companies have a long history of using samples and giveaways to entice people with low SES to try and use their harmful products. For example, tobacco companies have handed out free cigarettes to children in public housing complexes, homeless shelters, and soup kitchens.12 They have also included coupons for cigarettes in mailings for government food stamps.3
Other policies and practices related to the social environment also affect health and health outcomes of people with low SES. For example:
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.16171819
Menthol has a minty flavor that masks the harsh taste of tobacco. Menthol makes cigarette smoke feel easier to inhale and can make it harder to quit smoking.2627 To attract customers, tobacco companies target low-income communities with advertising and sales of flavored cigarettes and cigars—especially those with menthol. This can help explain why people with lower income and less education tend to smoke menthol cigarettes at a higher rate than groups with higher incomes and more education.2829
When people face many forms of stress—like financial problems, discrimination, or unsafe neighborhoods—they can be more likely to smoke.323334
The pressures of poverty help explain why the health problems caused by commercial tobacco tend to be worse for people with low SES. When people have severe or long-lasting 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 type 2 diabetes.3536 Smoking cigarettes also leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.16
There are differences in tobacco use, access to prevention services, and cessation treatments for tobacco use among specific populations.
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