Black men born between 1977 and 1982 have higher rates of lung cancer than white men born during this time, likely because the tobacco industry targeted minority youth with advertising in the 1990s.
Smoking rose steeply among Black adolescents between 1991 and 1977, which coincided with R.J. Reynold’s tobacco company’s advertisement campaign targeting African Americans.
There was 2.6 times as many cigarette ads per person in Black neighborhoods compared with white neighborhoods.
See “Lung Cancer Rate for Blacks No Longer Exceeds That of Whites” by Peter Urban on the AARP website (August 21, 2020)
