Two new papers in medical journals written by UW-CTRI authors excoriate the tobacco industry’s exploitation of Black Americans and encourage policymakers and clinicians to help Black Wisconsin residents quit tobacco use.
The first article, by UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria, calls on the US government to follow through on its promise to ban menthol flavoring in tobacco products, since 90 percent of Black residents who smoke use menthols. Research shows mentholated cigarettes make it easier to become addicted and harder to quit.
The second article, by UW-CTRI Founding Director Dr. Michael Fiore; UW-CTRI Director of Outreach Karen Conner; Lorraine Lathen, director of the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network; Kathuria; and UW-CTRI Researchers Dr. Megan Piper and Dr. Tim Baker calls on clinicians to make a more concerted effort to help Black patients address their tobacco use.
The papers address how Wisconsin has had the worst disparity in tobacco use between Black and White residents in the nation, a rate that still stands at 20.2% for Black residents and 13.7% for whites. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in Wisconsin, killing more than 7,000 residents every year.
“Black residents are more likely to try to quit,” Lathen said, “but less likely to have the tools we know work—such as medications and coaching—to succeed.”
“Doctors have a responsibility to address this,” said Kathuria. “We take an oath to first do no harm and, if we don’t address the leading preventable cause of disease and death in Wisconsin and the nation, and especially if we don’t do so with our most vulnerable patients, how are we fulfilling that oath?”
And when doctors don’t fulfill that oath, Fiore said, the results are higher rates of smoking-caused disease and death among Black adults across Wisconsin.
“Unfortunately, Black adults who smoke have higher rates of cardiovascular diseases, COPD, and cancer than White residents who smoke,” Fiore said.
“Reduced success in quitting among Black adults may be related in part to their lower likelihood of receiving or using evidence-based smoking treatment,” Lathen said. “It’s time insurers fully cover these treatments and doctors let their Black patients know these treatments are safe and prescribe them to all Black patients who smoke, vape or chew tobacco.”
And there are community resources that can help, too. “There is a lot of work going on in Wisconsin to confront and reduce the disparity that exists among Black adults who smoke,” Conner said. “For example, Lorraine has promoted No Menthol Sunday as a way for faith leaders to educate congregants about smoking, vaping, and the role of menthol and other flavors in initiating tobacco addiction.”
UW-CTRI partnered with community leaders in Milwaukee on a project to identify the most acceptable and feasible smoking cessation interventions that work to help Black adults quit smoking and cessation messaging that would be most receptive to Black adults. The team received a $100,000 pilot award known as a UW Stakeholder and Patient Engagement Research (SPER) grant. The project is called “Reducing Racial Disparities in Smoking: The Milwaukee Collaboration.”
Milwaukee County is home to more than 240,000 people who identify as African American, representing 69 percent of Black people in Wisconsin, making it the ideal location to start this focused work.
- Kathuria H, Ewart G, Neptune ER, Upson D. Unveiling the Tobacco Industry’s Exploitative Legacy: A Call for Racial Equity through a Menthol Ban. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. 21(9), 1245–1246. Online September 1, 2024.
- Fiore MC, Lathen L, Conner K, Kathuria H, Piper ME, Baker TB. Helping Black Patients in Wisconsin Quit Smoking: A Call for Clinical Action. Wisconsin Medical Journal.