Spring 1999
Volume 2: Issue 1

Smoking gun: Blacks say menthol cigarette ads targeted them

By Barbara Tomovick

A federal lawsuit claiming cigarette manufacturers violated the civil rights of African Americans isn't about money, says the lead plaintiff in the case.

Rather, said the Rev. Jesse Brown Jr., it's about getting menthol cigarettes off the market and putting an end to targeted advertising of a hazardous product.

The case is one of countless individual and class-action suits pending against the nation's major tobacco companies, which last November agreed to cough up $206 billion to reimburse states for smoking-related Medicaid costs. But Brown et al v. Philip Morris Inc. et al, filed Oct. 19 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, has a twist. Where other suits claim personal injury or product liability, Brown's case claims cigarette makers have violated the rights of African Americans by aiming menthol-product advertising at them.

African Americans are the major consumers of menthol cigarettes, which are more harmful than regular smokes, the lawsuit contends.

Michael York, a Washington, D.C., outside counsel for Philip Morris, told The Frankenfeld Report the suit was based on an "exotic theory" without legal merit. He called the target-marketing claim "preposterous" and said, "I can't think of any segment of our society that are not targeted, except people who are underage."

The suit asks the court to declare menthol cigarettes a defective product and ban them. It also seeks punitive damages and restitution for smokers who have spent money on menthol cigarettes, according to Bill Adams, an attorney with Black & Adams in Philadelphia. Adams helped file the suit on behalf of Brown, two black health groups headed by Brown, and several current and former African-American menthol smokers.

Brown, a Lutheran minister and non-smoker, told The Frankenfeld Report the plaintiffs also want access to research about the effects of adding menthol to tobacco products. That information would be used in the creation of cessation and treatment programs for menthol smokers, he said.

"As a pastor, I have had to preach many funerals of men and women whose illnesses were caused by their addiction to mentholated cigarettes. This issue affects me deeply," said Brown.

The suit is proposed as a class action and at this writing was awaiting court certification as such. In the meantime, The Onyx Group, a marketing communications company in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is recruiting potential plaintiffs by asking African-Americans who have smoked menthol cigarettes since 1954 to call a toll-free phone number. Brown is vice president of The Onyx Group as well as founder of the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery and the Uptown Coalition for Tobacco Control and Public Health.

With respect to Big Tobacco's $206 billion payment, The Onyx Group is urging African Americans to ensure that a fair share of the money goes to help blacks break the habit. In an article titled "The Potential Impact of the Multi-State Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement on the African American Community," organization President Charyn D. Sutton also points to a concern that people of color, who account for a disproportionate number of Medicaid recipients, are likely to be further victimized by paying the costs of the settlement through higher cigarette prices. For more information, see the group's Web site at http://www.onyx-group.com.

Ironically, as African Americans wage war on tobacco, another ethnic group is turning to the leafy plant for sustenance. The Omaha tribe in Nebraska views the manufacture of low-cost cigarettes, including menthols, as a way to provide sorely needed jobs, at the same time that Indian health officials are calling smoking a real health concern on the nation's Indian reservations. That worries Brown, but he said the lawsuit extends only to major manufacturers.

If his side prevails, Brown said, all menthol smokers will benefit.

"While some will probably begin smoking non-menthol products, we believe that those cigarettes have fewer health consequences than mentholated brands," he said. "However, we also think that many smokers of menthol cigarettes will not like the taste of regular cigarettes, which are much harsher, and so will be motivated to quit."

Contact the Rev. Jesse Brown Jr. at: