Sunday Feature/Big Tobacco campaigns—
By Kathryn Carley, producer, Commonwealth News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Black-led organizations are working to counter tobacco marketing in their communities. They say those campaigns have contributed to higher use and more tobacco-related disease.
For decades, Big Tobacco has used retail promotions, music events and advertising in publications popular with Black audiences to promote menthol cigarettes, which are considered easier to smoke but harder to quit.
Kendric Dartis, vice president of engagement outreach for the nonprofit public health organization Truth Initiative, said more than 45,000 Black Americans die from smoking-related disease each year.
“We know that this did not happen by accident, that these are results of decades of targeted marketing and other practices that have disproportionately affected Black communities,” Dartis contended.
Black Americans face major obstacles
Dartis stressed the health effects of smoking are compounded by the discrimination Black Americans often face, which can increase both stress and tobacco usage. Dartis noted the organization is partnering with BET, Essence and the NAACP to spread greater awareness about the risks and the tools available to quit tobacco for good.
The increasing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people has both alarmed health professionals and fueled the creation of digital smoking cessation apps, including Truth Initiative’s EX Program, which features personalized quit plans with daily advice and text message support from the Mayo Clinic. The program was found to be effective in the first randomized clinical trial for nicotine vaping cessation among adolescents and young adults.
Dartis explained each tobacco user has their own triggers to smoke, which could be driving, hanging out with friends or just drinking coffee. Dartis added the program takes a day-to-day approach to going tobacco-free.
“It takes the average person seven times to quit but you cannot and you should not do it alone, and we’re here as an added resource to help you get to your quit day,” Dartis emphasized.
The EX Program is interactive and engages an online community for added support. Research shows it can increase nicotine users’ odds of quitting tobacco by up to 40%. Dartis underscored it includes not only cigarettes or vaping products but also nicotine pouches and hookahs. People looking to kick the habit can text “JOIN FREEDOM” to 88709 or visit EXProgram.com.
