Congress is trying its hand at regulating tobacco, and the first order of business is legislation that, in an attempt to decrease the allure of smoking among young people, bans flavored cigarettes like cloves. While it’s unknown how this whole legislation experiment will pan out, one thing is clear in Big Tobacco’s uncertain future — black folks won’t have to give up their Newports or Kools anytime soon.

A glaring omission in this ban on cigarette flavorings is menthol, which will remain just as legal as ever. Those in the tobacco regulation business see this as a very obvious — and potentially dangerous — example of legislators bowing under pressure from big tobacco. A loss of menthol cigarettes, which make up a quarter of cigarette sales, would mean a loss of big money… and black consumers. While a quarter of white smokers smoke cigarettes with menthol, a whopping 75 percent of black smokers do.

According to the New York Times, “for years, public health authorities have worried that menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans.” Many anti-tobacco advocates understand the limitations of the legislations but are rooting for it anyway, saying that it’s at least a start.

“The bottom line is we want the legislation,” William S. Robinson, executive director of the very anti-menthol National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, told the NYT. “But we want to reserve the right to address this issue at some critical point because of the percentage of people of African descent who use mentholated products.”

And why do black people smoke mentholated cigarettes in such disproportionate numbers? For some, it’s a chicken or egg question. But it can’t be denied that many mentholated brands, such as Newport, Kools, and Salems, use marketing strategies that are obviously geared toward black consumers. According to a University of Pittsburgh studies, 75 percent of cigarette ads in black neighborhoods are for menthol cigarettes.

Of course, the tobacco companies deny that advertising for menthols is directed toward African Americans. Well, sort of. Here’s what a representative from R.J. Reynolds, which manufactures Newports and Salems, had to say:

“Would we like African-Americans to choose R. J. Reynolds brands? Yes, we would. Do we have marketing and communications that that audience can identify with? Yes, we do.”