Menthol was first used as a cigarette additive in the 1920s. Although menthol cigarettes started out as a specialty item, targeted marketing strategies helped them grow in popularity. Promotion began with female smokers in the 1930s, and shifted to African American smokers in the 1940s and younger and first-time smokers in the 1970s.¹ Since at least the 1990s, LGBTQ communities have also been a target of menthol marketing.

Today, menthol cigarettes represent approximately one-fourth of all cigarette sales in the United States.²

In 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed by Congress, banning artificial or natural flavorings in cigarettes. The legislation included flavors such as strawberry, clove, grape, and cherry, but menthol was excluded. Although the Food and Drug Administration has regulatory authority on tobacco products, it has not yet taken action on menthol.²

References

1. The Marketing of Menthol Cigarettes in the United States: Population, Messages, and Channels (2004)
2. Menthol and Cigarettes -- California Department of Public Health (2017)

Trends in Use

• 71% of LGBTQ youth smokers report smoking menthols.¹
• 36% of LBGTQ adult smokers report smoking menthols compared to 29% of straight smokers.¹

Evidence of Targeting

Tobacco companies have targeted menthol marketing to traditionally safe spaces for the LGBTQ community, like gay bars and Pride festivals, through event sponsorship and coupons to purchase a pack for just $1 -- nearly 90% off the retail price.²

Additionally, LGBTQ people are more than twice as likely to be exposed to e-cigarette content on social media and internet platforms (including Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Tumblr) than non-LGBTQ people.³

In the 90s, a tobacco company in San Francisco created a marketing plan to target the LBGTQ community. They called it "Project SCUM."⁴

Big tobacco also continues to utilize rainbows and "pride" language, particularly in LGBTQ publications, to hook new customers from these communities. They depict tobacco use as a normal part of life for the LGBTQ community.

Ad from Out Magazine, 1994

Ad from Out Magazine, 2001. This ad promotes "The House of Menthol." "Houses" have long been a source of LGBTQ social support and entertainment to fill a void when families of origin are not supportive.

Disparate Outcomes

There is adequate research to confirm that LGBT people have a unique “cluster of risk factors” that would lead them to have both greater cancer incidence and later stage diagnosis.⁵ Those risk factors include higher rates of tobacco use, discrimination, lower likelihood of having health insurance coverage, and greater likelihood of having negative experiences with health care professionals.^5,6

Resources

• Menthol Marketing: Get the Facts -- WAATPN and The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance

References

1. National Youth Advocacy Coalition. Coming Out about Smoking: A Report from the National LGBTQ Young Adult Tobacco Project. 2010.
2. Newport's 'Pleasure Lounge' Aims to Ignite Cigarette Sales -- The Wall Street Journal (2016)
3. LGBTQ Tobacco Use Fact Sheet -- National LGBT Cancer Network
4. Marketing Tobacco to LGBT Communities -- Smokefree.gov
5. The LGBT Community's Disproportionate Cancer Burden -- National LGBT Cancer Network
6. LGBTQ People With Cancer Fact Sheet -- American Cancer Society (2019)

Trends in Use

• Youth smokers are the age group most likely to use menthol cigarettes.¹
• Between 2015-2019, mint and menthol went from among the least popular to among the most popular e-cigarette flavors for high school students.²
• A 2019 study found that mint was the most popular flavor among Juul users in 10th and 12th grades.³
• 89% of Wisconsin high school students would not use unflavored tobacco products.⁴

Evidence of Targeting

Flavored tobacco products are highly popular among youth and young adults: Over 80% of youth who have ever used tobacco started with a flavored product.⁵

Flavored and menthol tobacco product packaging is often brightly colored and placed next to candy in retail environments.⁶ According to the 2018 WRAP survey, more than 1 in 4 Wisconsin retailers sold tobacco products within 12 inches of youth products like toys and candy.⁷

Evidence from tobacco industry documents shows that the industry studied smokers’ menthol preferences and manipulated menthol levels to appeal to a variety of smokers, including adolescents and young adults.¹

Image: Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids

Disparate Outcomes

Studies show that menthol cigarettes are more likely to increase youth initiation, hinder cessation, and promote relapse.⁸

Longitudinal studies show that initiation with menthol cigarettes facilitates progression to established cigarette use among young smokers.¹

Resources

• Tobacco is Changing: Menthol video
• Uncool Menthol -- Truth
• The FACTs on Menthol and Teens -- FACT
  • "Menthol and Teens" Data Sources -- FACT

References

1. Menthol: Facts, stats and regulations -- Truth Initiative (2018)
2. e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019 -- Cullen et al. (2019)
3. Flavors of e-Cigarettes Used by Youths in the United States -- Leventhal et al. (2019)
4. Youth Tobacco Survey 2018: High School Snapshot -- WI Department of Health Services (2019)
5. Big Tobacco Wants You to See Grape -- Truth (2018)
6. Bold and bright: How tobacco companies market flavored products to appeal to youth -- Truth Initiative (2018)
7. Product Placement -- WRAP Survey (2018), Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Wisconsin
8. Menthol and Cigarettes -- California Department of Public Health (2017)