The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Urban communities are under siege by the Tobacco Industry. There has been an explosion of emerging tobacco products, tobacco promoting products and tobacco marketing strategies targeting this population, particularly African American communities. This presents a significant problem, as tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death among African Americans. Many of the products are flavored or mentholated cigarettes and cigars. Upstart tobacco companies have bombarded communities with newer and cheaper products, whereas larger tobacco companies have introduced new versions of existing brands. In addition, other companies are selling tobacco and drug promoting products such as Chronic Candy. In marketing emerging products, the industry has incorporated new themes such as Hip Hop culture into their marketing strategies. Hip Hop culture originated in African American communities and it appeals to youth worldwide.

Methods: Emerging tobacco products, tobacco promoting products and marketing materials such as advertisements and promotional items were collected from stores, print media and events. Collected items were scanned for use in this presentation.

Results: While monitoring stores in North Carolina for emerging products, a tobacco control advocate discovered a new version of KOOL cigarettes called KOOL MIXX Special Edition Packs. The cigarette packaging featured Hip-Hop images and messages. The advocate developed an “Emerging Tobacco Product Alert” to educate fellow advocates about the product. The alert initiated a national call to action by tobacco control advocates. The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network used the alert and additional information to initiate a national counter marketing campaign.