By John Payton

As the Food and Drug Administration considers evidence on the deadly impact of Menthol cigarettes, Lorillard Tobacco Company is apparently repositioning itself as a civil rights organization—fighting for “freedom of choice” for African Americans by opposing efforts to ban menthol as an ingredient in cigarettes.

In a recent op-ed piece featured on a company website, Lorillard, which makes Newport cigarettes, argues that “the history of African Americans in this country has been one of fighting against paternalistic limitations” and that “grown folks” should have the “freedom to choose to smoke regular or menthol cigarettes.” Nice rhetoric, but one that ignores both history and the facts.

The African-American struggle has been defined historically by efforts to dismantle state-sponsored racial discrimination, achieve full inclusion in the social, economic, political and educational spheres of society and end the racially discriminatory application of criminal law. Lorillard’s definition of that history? The freedom of choice to expose yourself to proven harmful substances with deadly health effects.

If history has taught us anything, it is the need to scrutinize the facts. The facts on this issue tell us Lorillard and other major manufacturers of menthol tobacco products would be in serious economic trouble without the more than 80 percent of African-American smokers who smoke menthol brands. The facts also tell us that—far from being a choice of “grown folks”—smoking is rooted in an addiction that overwhelmingly begins with youth; and youth are simply incapable of weighing the life-and-death consequences of their actions—including a 50 percent chance of dying prematurely if they become life-long smokers.

With these facts in mind, the FDA should help millions of Americans avoid tobacco-related death and disease by banning menthol flavoring in cigarettes.

Let’s start at the beginning of the deadly path being carved out by tobacco companies. Eighty percent of smokers begin smoking before they turn 18. And, based on what both common sense and science have taught us about teenagers, it is little wonder that so many young people try smoking. Youth are characterized by immature judgment, impulsive decision-making, and vulnerability to peer pressure. This is not just idle speculation: research shows that the frontal lobe, which manages impulse control and calibration of risk, is still growing during adolescence and may not reach full development until a person’s twenties.

In other words, young people are uniquely vulnerable to taking up smoking. They cannot appreciate the risks of lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke the same way that adults do. Teens see smoking portrayed positively in advertising, film and other media, and are less able to accurately weigh these purported benefits against the very real risk of premature death from smoking. They may start by experimenting with cigarettes, but end up with a lifelong—and life-threatening—addiction.

Menthol brand cigarettes exacerbate an already deadly set of circumstances. All cigarette flavorings are attractive to kids, because they mask the harsh taste of tobacco with a sweet or minty taste. But menthol makes smoking even more palatable to new smokers by stimulating cold receptors, soothing the throat and easing the discomfort associated with smoking. Menthol is, therefore, disproportionately smoked by younger and newer smokers. Almost half of young smokers smoke menthols, compared with less than one-third of smokers over the age of 25. In addition, 60 percent of smokers in middle-school smoke menthols—the highest rates among all age groups. Newport, the top-selling menthol brand, has only a 10 percent market share, but the brand is smoked by 17 percent of new smokers.

Menthols are also disproportionately smoked by African-American and other minority smokers. More than 80 percent of African-American smokers use menthols, including 88 percent of African-American middle school smokers and 87 percent of African-American high school smokers.

The tobacco companies neglect to mention that this “preference” for menthol is not a mere accident: research shows that menthols have long been targeted at the African-American community. One study found Ebony—a publication associated with African-American consumers —to have 10 times more ads for menthol cigarettes than People. Tobacco companies have even designed menthol brands, like “Uptown” and “X,” to be marketed specifically to the African-American community. Black teens have been targeted with menthol campaigns like KOOL MIXX, an alleged celebration of hip-hop music and culture. Though African Americans smoke at lower rates than whites, they have higher rates of lung cancer, and African-American smokers are more likely to die from the disease than white smokers. Although it is not clear that menthol plays a role in these disparities, the toll cigarettes take on the health of African Americans—and all Americans—is undisputed.

Finally, we should be clear about what “choice” means. The vast majority of smokers do not “choose” to smoke—70 percent of smokers want to quit, but only 5 percent succeed in any given year because smoking is a powerful addiction that is extremely difficult to overcome. And, though the tobacco companies insist that cigarettes are not more addictive with menthol, studies have found that smokers of menthol cigarettes smoke their first cigarette of the day earlier, experience stronger cravings, and are less successful in quitting than non-menthol smokers. In turn, African Americans quit smoking at rates much lower than white smokers.

The best thing Lorillard Tobacco can do for African Americans—and for all Americans—is to stop selling their deadly cigarettes. Short of that, the FDA should protect and vastly improve the public health of Americans, particularly African Americans and other people of color, by banning menthol as a flavor in cigarettes.

John Payton is President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.