“We used to pick it; now they want us to smoke it,” read the prominently displayed poster on public transportation in the early and mid-1990s. I am not a smoker, but members of my family are, and I remember being deeply struck by the connection between an undesirable social and political condition (slavery) and a negative health behavior (smoking). It was a clever communications strategy aimed to encourage African Americans to quit smoking, and I got the message: being addicted to smoking feels just like being enslaved. Far fetched? Tell that to the millions of people who unsuccessfully try to quit each day. Addiction is real…and very profitable.

This week, a Food and Drug Administration panel is considering how to regulate tobacco, and specifically, whether to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes (a projected hit of $18 billion a year to the tobacco industry). I immediately wonder what affect this might have on African American communities. African Americans, while less likely to smoke than their white counterparts, are more likely to smoke menthol-flavored cigarettes. It is estimated that 75 percent of African American smokers use menthol brands, so any change in policy regulating menthol-flavored tobacco use would disproportionately affect African American smokers.

On the surface, a ban might not sound totally crazy—take away the option, and problem solved—but banning a substance alone has never solved the problem of addiction. Remember crack? Heroin? Methamphetamines? All of them are controlled substances. All of them have a thriving underground life. While I agree that smoking is a dangerous, addictive and negative health behavior that leads African Americans to disproportionately suffer from lung cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses, a ban without treatment could potentially lead to the increased criminalization of those who currently (legally) consume menthol-flavored tobacco products.

As federal officials consider the ban, other federal officials and health advocates should improve their efforts to ensure that insurance providers, health and hospital corporations, and other health service providers offer free and affordable incentives and treatment services for people who struggle with their addiction to menthol-flavored tobacco. If they can’t effectively treat the illness, they should not ban the substance. We need more prevention and intervention. Period. People addicted to a substance will find a way to get it. It is an inconvenient truth that we have to recognize.

Policymakers should make sure they don’t enact a ban with their blinders on, so to speak. There is great potential for menthol-flavored tobacco products to go “underground” if a ban is enacted. They should, therefore, develop and implement preventive education and training programs for law enforcement and other criminal justice stakeholders so that their institutional responses to those who are addicted to menthol-flavored tobacco products is health-centered and implemented with sound judgment (i.e., based upon best practices). Otherwise, we’re likely to fall into the same old cycle of reactive, shortsighted strategies that cause more harm than good. And no one has time or money to waste on that.

Copyright 2010 Monique W. Morris

Jill Scott has generously agreed to donate the proceeds from her new song, “Hear My Call,” to support the NAACP’s effort to raise funds for relief and rebuilding in Haiti. Show your support by downloading her new song. Thank you, “Jilly from Philly”– We appreciate you!