Why do Black smokers tend to like menthol cigarettes?

Question

Let's face it, most Black smokers like menthol cigarettes. Why is that? I'm a Black smoker, but I like Marlboros....I know that all cigarettes are hazardous, but I eschew menthol smokes because they contain small amounts of fiber glass (in addition to the bad stuff that all smokes contain).

On a side note, it seems like most of the White people who like menthol cigarettes are White females with Black boyfriends (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Fyi...I think that Blacks often drink Sprite because it is heavily advertised in Black media (e.g., BET and Jet Magazine).

Answer 1

There's a couple schools of thought on this issue:

1.Nobody knows...
2.Because they're menthol
3.I don't know.

All are legit reasons.

Also a side note, my fiancee likes menthols and I am a white male and I enjoy the taste of a Nat Sherman Mint which is their version of a menthol...

Answer me this, why do they all drink crazy amounts of Sprite? The answer is probably the same.

Answer 2

I don't know, but I am a white female who smokes menthol. My husband is white, so I don't fit into the white girl/black guy thing.

I used to smoke plain Marbs, but when I started dating my husband he had menthols and when I ran out, I smoked his. I couldn't stand the taste of regular ones after that.

I don't think it has to do with color, I think it's the fact that if you smoke, you smoke whatever is around you, most of the time. More whites smoke regular, so hence the others who are around them will see a particular brand/flavor and pick it up. Same concept with blacks and menthols, I would guess.

Now, excuse me while I go for a smoke break. :-)

Answer 3

I am a white female, 48 years old. I have smoked KOOL's since I was 16. I am married to a white man. You're right. MOST of the black people I've ever known smoke NEWPORT. Don't know why, but that's the way it is.

Answer 4

I don't smoke and have not smoked in about twelve years. When I did smoke I smoked menthol cigarettes and that was because everyone I hung with smoked the same kind. I say that it 's mainly your surroundings.

Answer 5

Because in black neighborhoods those are the cigarettes that are prevelant and the most advertised. Plus it's better so the government can continue their experiment on black smokers.

Answer 6

It is a stereotypes to a point , but through out our history in this country has been racially divided. Regardless of what our liberals and politicians say we are still a nation of race and class. Rich white people look down upon poor whites as they do blacks. It is even worse for poor blacks. It could be that with regular cigarettes being popular with white men,blacks try and separate themselves from the status Que. Being your own person with your own identity is a important defense mechanism to people who are always having to prove themselves to a society that keeps putting them down. Unless of course they can benefit themselves by occasionally being a hypocrite.

Answer 7

I agree with Dave.....and once a store owner admitted to me that black people 9-10 smoke menthol...(all they have to do is say the brand and he automatically reaches for the menthol)
It has everything to do with advertising...........

Answer 8

Smokers of menthol cigarettes tend to inhale them longer adding to the ill effects. Why is it, knowing that cigarettes adversely impact your health, do you smoke anyway?. No logic to it.

Answer 9

http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/menthol.asp

All of the myths exposed. Even the one about menthol cigarettes shrinking your P**is.

Answer 10

Do I get tagged for asking back Blacks like ment-hos? Is there really a thing like racial profile?