Cool, Salem, Newport.

I don't smoke, but even I know that they're cigarette brands and specifically menthol

cigarette flavor, with flashy ads that make it seem that only the coolest of the cool

people smoke them.

They've been controversial for decades and the Food and Drug Administration is weighing a national ban on them.

But tobacco companies are not a fan of losing out on millions of dollars with that possible move.

So they've enlisted leaders in a community that has long been the biggest consumer of menthols.

Black people.

Yeah. the biggest consumer of menthols. Black people. I'm Gustavariano. You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the L.A. Times.

It's Tuesday, April 26, 2022.

Today, how big tobacco has exploited black trauma to fight potential bans on menthol cigarettes?

My late times colleague Emily Baumgartner teamed up with Ben Stockton of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism to report on this.

They focused on cigarette giant Reynolds American and their efforts to keep menthols in the hands of black smokers.

Emily, Ben, welcome to the Times.

Thanks for having us.

Yeah, thanks to having us.

Ben, last fall, you found yourself out of Marriott in Atlanta, fine dining with hundreds of black leaders.

What was the occasion?

Yeah, so I'd just moved from London to

Atlanta a few months before, and I heard about this conference that was going on, which was being held

by the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures, which is a group of black state-level lawmakers

and their staff. What ended up being the most memorable speech for me was while we ate lunch on the third day,

...