Know Why
The Background.
The tobacco and vaping industries have a long history of targeting specific groups of people to use their products, including the black community, the LGBTQ community, and the Latinx community, among others.
The Tactics.
They targeted advertising and displays of flavored products in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. They offered discounted prices of products like menthol cigarettes in communities of color.
They placed young people and people of color in their advertisements to make the products seem cool and appealing. In the past few years, vaping companies purchased ad space in places visited most by young people like YouTube, The Cartoon Network, and online learning websites for kids.
They marketed flavored tobacco products to LGBTQ+ communities through ads with phrases like “take pride in your flavor” and images of colored packages arranged in rainbow patterns.
The Results.
It’s no coincidence that so many people of color smoke menthol - it’s by design. These tactics were highly effective in creating big industry profits by addicting people to tobacco and nicotine products. Such targeted, aggressive marketing practices - combined with pressures related to racism, food insecurity, unemployment, and other daily stressors - contribute to worse health problems in these communities.
The Response.
In response, Massachusetts updated its tobacco laws to improve health in the communities that have been unjustly targeted by the tobacco and vaping industries.