A white truck pulled onto their block, and the children approached. But this wasn't the “ice cream man.” Instead, a rep from a tobacco company was handing out cigarette samples!
Marie Evans was one of them. She began smoking at thirteen after receiving samples from Lorillard Tobacco.
But the story gets worse.
Companies use predatory marketing tactics to target us, like hooking children, plastering billboards all over our neighborhoods, sponsoring Black events, and marketing the "coolness" of menthols. Millions of Black people have been killed — including Evans, who died from lung cancer at 54.
Today, 85% of Black smokers use highly-addictive menthols, making it harder to quit.
The Biden administration is working to ban them. Previous bans have focused on sweet flavors, but never menthol.
While this may help some quit, it also revokes the choices of Black consumers without providing solutions for care — like counseling or quitting programs. In addition, it doesn’t hold companies accountable for getting us hooked in the first place.
Eric Garner was killed on the "suspicion" of selling loose cigarettes, and George Floyd was buying a pack before his killing. These are not coincidences, but the result of a long history of targeting.
Nicotine addiction can't be reformed away with taxes or bans. Accessible public health care has to be the solution — as well as telling the truth about racist, predatory corporate behavior!