African Americans and Tobacco Use

Black or African American is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as “a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.”¹ There were over 40 million African Americans in the United States in 2016—approximately 13% of the U.S. population.²

Although African Americans usually smoke fewer cigarettes and start smoking cigarettes at an older age, they are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than Whites.^3,4,5,6,7,8

Current Tobacco Use* Among African American Adults—2019^†9

* “Tobacco Use” is defined as use either “every day” or “some days” of at least one tobacco product among individuals (For cigarettes, users were defined as persons who reported use either “every day” or “some days” at the time of survey and had smoked ≥100 cigarettes during their lifetime).
† Data taken from the National Health Interview Survey, 2019, and refer to Black, non-Hispanic  adults aged 18 years and older.
‡ Dashes indicate prevalence estimates with a relative standard error > 30% and are not presented.

Tobacco use is a major contributor to the three leading causes of death among African Americans—heart disease, cancer, and stroke.^3,4,5

• Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death among African Americans.⁴ The risk of developing diabetes is 30–40% higher for cigarette smokers than nonsmokers.¹⁰

• African American youth and young adults have significantly lower prevalence of cigarette smoking than Hispanics and Whites.¹¹
• Although the prevalence of cigarette smoking among African American and White adults is similar, African Americans smoke fewer cigarettes per day.^3,6
• On average, African Americans initiate smoking at a later age compared to Whites.^3,

Most African American adult cigarette smokers want to quit smoking, and many have tried.^10,13

• Among African American current daily cigarette smokers aged 18 years and older:
  • 72.8% report that they want to quit compared to 67.5% of Whites, 69.6% of Asian Americans, 67.4% of Hispanics, and 55.6% of American Indians/Alaska Natives.¹³
  • 63.4% report attempting to quit compared to 56.2% of Hispanics, 53.3% of Whites, and 69.4% of Asian Americans.¹³
• Despite more quit attempts, African Americans are less successful at quitting than White and Hispanic cigarette smokers, possibly because of lower utilization of cessation treatments such as counseling and medication.^3,13

Targeted Marketing

• The tobacco industry has aggressively marketed menthol products to young people and African Americans, especially in urban communities.¹⁴ Historically, the tobacco industry’s attempts to maintain a positive image among African Americans have included such efforts as supporting cultural events and making contributions to minority higher education institutions, elected officials, civic and community organizations, and scholarship programs.³
• Tobacco companies have historically placed larger amounts of advertising in African American publications, exposing African Americans to more cigarette ads than Whites.³

Menthol Cigarette Advertising

• Historically, the marketing and promotion of menthol cigarettes have been targeted heavily toward African Americans through culturally tailored advertising images and messages.^14,15
• Over 7 out of 10 African American youth ages 12-17 years who smoke use menthol cigarettes¹⁶
• African American adults have the highest percentage of menthol cigarette use compared to other racial and ethnic groups.¹⁷
• Menthol in cigarettes is thought to make harmful chemicals more easily absorbed in the body, likely because menthol makes it easier to inhale cigarette smoke.^3,18
• Some research shows that menthol cigarettes may be more addictive than non-menthol cigarettes.¹⁹

Price Promotions, Retail, and Point-of-Sale Advertising

• Tobacco companies use price promotions such as discounts and multi-pack coupons—which are most often used by African Americans and other minority groups, women, and young people—to increase sales.²⁰
• Areas with large racial/ethnic minority populations tend to have more tobacco retailers located within them, which contributes to greater tobacco advertising exposure.²⁰
• Menthol products are given more shelf space in retail outlets within African American and other minority neighborhoods.²⁰

Culturally appropriate anti-smoking health marketing strategies and mass media campaigns like CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers national tobacco education campaign, as well as CDC-recommended tobacco prevention and control programs and policies, can help reduce the burden of disease among the African American population.

• Americans For Nonsmokers’ Rightsexternal icon
• National African American Tobacco Prevention Networkexternal icon