Big Tobacco’s big race play: Philip Morris, the NAACP and the future of menthol cigarettes

Lorillard Tobacco donated nearly four times as much to Republican candidates as to Democrats in the 2014 congressional elections. No surprise there — most businesses count on Republicans to hold the line on regulations and taxes. But Lorillard made a striking exception for one set of Democrats: African Americans. It gave campaign cash to half of all black members of Congress, as opposed to just one in 38 non-black Democrats, according to an analysis by FairWarning of records from the Center for Responsive Politics. To put it another way, black lawmakers, all but one of whom are Democrats, were 19 times as likely as their Democratic peers to get a donation. It’s not hard to see why. The election campaign overlapped a debate crucial to Lorillard: Whether to add menthol, the minty, throat-numbing additive, to a list of flavorings banned from use in cigarettes in 2009 on public health grounds. Lorillard’s Newport cigarettes have been the top-selling menthol brand, accounting for billions of dollars in annual sales. And who most favors menthols? Black smokers, by a wide margin. For decades, the tobacco industry has maintained what amounts to an informal mutual aid pact with some black organizations. Over the years, cigarette makers have donated generously to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and to its affiliate, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; to major groups like the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the United Negro College Fund; and to a host of smaller African American organizations. In return, some of the groups have helped the industry fight anti-smoking measures. Other times, critics say, they have simply turned a blind eye to the harmful impact of tobacco on the black community. Menthol cigarettes, once a niche product, now account for about 30 percent of U.S. cigarette sales. But a study cited by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that menthols were the choice of 88 percent of black smokers and 57 percent of smokers under 18. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the landmark 2009 law that authorized the FDA to regulate tobacco products, included a ban on candy, fruit and spice flavorings because of their appeal to young smokers. But in negotiations that led to adoption of the law, menthol was given a pass. In July 2013, after complaints from public health groups, the FDA put out a call for public comments on whether menthol, too, should be restricted or banned. Several other countries have banned menthol or imposed deadlines for eliminating it. But not a peep has been heard from the FDA since it asked the public to weigh in more than two years ago. This past June, in a display of confidence, Reynolds American Inc., which includes R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., completed a merger with Lorillard, paying more than $27 billion for a company that depended on menthols for about 85 percent of sales. The menthol limbo fits a pattern, according to public health advocates, who say the FDA has been all but paralyzed by excessive caution and, when it has tried to act, by successful legal challenges from the industry. In November 2011, the agency was blocked in court when it tried to require graphic warning labels on cigarette packs like those in at least 75 countries. And it has yet to complete the rulemaking process that would extend its oversight to cigars and e-cigarettes, which are increasingly popular among teens. The failure to act is “inexcusable.” said Joelle Lester, a staff attorney with the Public Health Law Center in St. Paul, Minn. “Prohibiting menthol in tobacco products should be a very high priority.” Agency officials declined to be interviewed. A spokesman said in an email that the FDA “is continuing to consider regulatory options related to menthol.’’ Banning menthol would be politically difficult under any circumstances, but observers say it will be impossible without strong support from African American leadership groups. And despite support for a ban from some black public health advocates, African American politicians and organizations have been largely silent. Some of the smaller groups that have received tobacco money over the years–the National Black Police Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the Congress of Racial Equality — have opposed a ban, claiming it would trigger illicit trade in menthol cigarettes. This, they say, would result in lost tax revenues, rising law enforcement costs and widespread arrests in the black community. The NBPA launched a write-in campaign that brought more than 36,000 comments opposing a ban, according to an FDA document. That group did not respond to interview requests. But John Dixon, a past president of NOBLE and the police chief in Petersburg, Va., said he thought banning menthol would harm “the minority community, because the majority of menthol smokers are minorities.” He added that “prohibitions cause a whole other host of problems,” including an added “burden on law enforcement.” NOBLE lists RAI Services Co., part of Reynolds American, as a current donor. But Dixon said this “would not have any influence, one way or another,’’ on the group’s positions. A complicated relationship The relationship between tobacco companies and black groups “is complicated,’’ said Delmonte Jefferson, executive director of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, a CDC-funded nonprofit. In recent years, minority groups have attracted a wider range of corporate sponsors, making tobacco funding less important. But “there was a long time that it was only the tobacco industry that would support” some of them, Jefferson said. “To do an abrupt turn against the same companies—that’s kind of hard for them to do.” While smoking rates for black and white adults are comparable, blacks suffer higher death rates from tobacco-related ailments, including some types of cancer and cardiovascular disease. According to the CDC, about 47,000 African Americans die annually from smoking-related illnesses, making tobacco use the largest preventable cause of death for black Americans. Menthols do not appear to be any more toxic than other brands. “A menthol cigarette is just another cigarette and should be regulated no differently,” said David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American, in an email to FairWarning. But health authorities view menthols as a starter product, saying that menthol’s anesthetizing effect helps beginners tolerate the harshness of tobacco smoke, making them more likely to become addicted to nicotine. “Menthol has no redeeming value other than to make the poison go down more easily,’’ said a report in the American Journal of Public Health. Some research also suggests that menthol smokers are more nicotine dependent and have more trouble quitting. For these reasons, said a 2013 FDA report, it is “likely that menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes.” The industry disputes this. According to Reynolds’ spokesman Howard, “The best available scientific evidence demonstrates that menthol cigarettes do not cause people to start smoking earlier, smoke more cigarettes … or make smokers more addicted than non-menthol cigarette smokers.” “African Americanization” of menthols In any case, the industry has worked hard to befriend the black community. Early on, cigarette makers touted menthols as good for smokers with a cough or cold, and “African Americans became attached to the notion” that menthols were safer, according to public health activist and researcher Phillip S. Gardiner. The companies reinforced the popularity of Kool and other brands by sponsoring cultural events and pouring marketing dollars into black media and neighborhoods–all part of what Gardiner called the