November 26th 2023.
President Joe Biden's administration is taking a huge step forward in banning menthol cigarettes in the United States. In response, major health organizations have been working to provide Black smokers with access to treatment in order to help them quit the highly addictive habit.
The White House is currently reviewing the Food and Drug Administration's proposal for the ban, and Natasha Phelps, the director of equity-centered policies at the Center for Black Health and Equity, is in full support of the initiative. However, Phelps is also aware that there's still a lot of work to be done. “We’re so far from the finish line,” she said.
The Center for Black Health and Equity has identified the need for more resources in the Black community to address menthol addiction treatment. To that end, they have been partnering with government agencies to include funding in their tobacco cessation bills for groups and grants that will focus on the systemic racism problem at the root of race-related health disparities. Phelps points to projects that will help fund transportation for minority people to get to treatment facilities and push for Medicaid expansion to include addiction-related services and medications.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids reports that 85% of menthol smokers are Black, and more than 45,000 Black people die from smoking every year. Menthol cigarettes are highly addictive and difficult to quit, and the rate at which smokers can successfully quit them is concerningly low, particularly in the Black community. Sven-Eric Jordt, an associate professor of anesthesiology, pharmacology, and cancer biology at the Duke University School of Medicine, explains that this is in part due to the cooling effect of menthol, which suppresses coughing and makes it easier to inhale.
Jennifer Folkenroth, the American Lung Association’s national senior director of tobacco programs, has also noted that menthol users tend to smoke fewer cigarettes and less frequently, yet they are still inhaling deeply and holding the breath in longer. This misconception often prevents nicotine replacement therapy dosing from being properly utilized.
It's clear that it's difficult to quit menthols on your own, and Folkenroth notes that professional programs that help smokers quit are being severely underused. To make sure that no one is left behind in their quitting attempts, Folkenroth encourages trained and certified facilitators in Black communities, like churches, to assist quitters in their journey to freedom.
Banning menthol cigarettes is a good first step, but it's only the beginning. To truly make a difference in the Black community, organizations need to continue their efforts to ensure that Black people have the resources they need to quit the highly addictive habit.
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