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.

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