From plantation-era exploitation to menthol marketing, the tobacco industry has targeted Black Americans for generations. Now, a growing movement is pushing back.
The tobacco industry’s relationship with Black America did not begin with advertising. It began with forced labor, centuries ago, when enslaved people cultivated tobacco on Southern plantations. What followed was not a break from that exploitation but a continuation of it, dressed in new clothing.
Today, more than 80% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared to 43% of adult smokers overall, according to research from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York. That figure is not an accident. It is the result of decades of deliberate, targeted marketing aimed at Black communities, a strategy the industry refined long after the plantation era ended.
The human cost
The consequences reach far beyond a preference for one cigarette over another. Black Americans die from tobacco-related illnesses at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Approximately 45,000 lives are lost each year to diseases tied to tobacco use, including cancer and heart disease. Black individuals are also more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke, adding another layer of risk on top of direct tobacco use.
Kendric Dartis, Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at Truth Initiative, has described the tobacco industry’s targeting of Black communities as more than a public health problem. He frames it as a social justice issue, and the data support that framing.
Systemic racism compounds the problem in ways that go beyond marketing. Environmental stressors linked to structural inequality make nicotine addiction harder to escape. Gaps in public health access limit the availability of quitting resources. The barriers are not simply personal. They are structural.
Organizations fighting back
Truth Initiative has positioned itself at the center of the effort to change this. Through its Breath of Freedom coalition, the organization works to address the historical targeting of Black communities by providing education, support, and quitting resources at no cost to participants.
In partnership with the NAACP, Truth Initiative has expanded that work to include advocacy for stronger protections against tobacco products marketed toward Black communities. The collaboration includes community workshops, outreach programs, and efforts to challenge the industry’s continued presence in these neighborhoods.
The EX program
One of the most concrete tools to come out of this partnership is the EX Program, developed by Truth Initiative in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. The program is free, evidence-based, and available nationwide. Participants can engage online or through text messaging, and receive personalized quit plans, peer support, and access to a large community of people navigating the same process.
Research on the program shows it can increase the likelihood of quitting by up to 40%. It covers cigarettes, vaping, hookah, and other forms of nicotine use, and operates with full confidentiality throughout.
The financial barrier to quitting resources is one of the most cited reasons people delay or avoid seeking help. The EX Program removes that barrier entirely.
A path forward
The tobacco industry spent decades building addiction into Black communities with precision. Reversing that requires an equally deliberate effort, one that combines policy, community education, and accessible support structures.
Those ready to take that step can text JoinFreedom to 88709 or visit exprogram.com for more information.
The work is ongoing. The tools exist. And the communities most affected are no longer waiting for outside institutions to lead the way.
