The advertisements, which started as part of a 1960s-era campaign by the tobacco industry, aggressively marketed highly addictive menthol cigarettes to Black people for decades. Some Black publications even became dependent upon tobacco advertising to stay afloat, and marketers identified people in Black communities, such as barbers, to give free samples to clients to help build a new market.
But tobacco lobbyists and advertisers' success in creating a market of consumers could be soon coming to an end. Last Tuesday, anti-smoking groups sued the US government over the delay in passing a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has attempted to ban menthol for about 15 years, estimating that doing so could prevent 3
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