Tobacco targets black teens

Cigarette advertising campaigns are targeting low-income California neighborhoods and black teenagers, a study finds.

Research conducted by California’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program found tobacco marketing—particularly ads for menthol cigarettes—increased at retailers in close proximity to high schools with high African-American student populations, according to California Watch. The study’s authors paid special notice to advertising for Newport and Marlboro cigarettes, two of the most popular brands among underage smokers. Additional research guided by University of Michigan’s Robert Lipton found 38 percent of California’s K-12 schools were within 1,000 feet of a store that sells cigarettes, and stores near high schools displayed an average of 25 cigarette ads.

“There is a systematic targeting [of disadvantaged communities] by the tobacco industry, which is an extraordinary public-health problem,” said Lisa Henricksen, who presented the research during a legislative briefing in Sacramento.