Why do so many black people smoke Newport’s?  I understand that marketing to consumer groups based on race can be very profitable but is there a specific reason besides sales and marketing why Newport’s are marketed so aggressively towards black people?

Read this out of the Urban Dictionary but there was no source so I will just post what was written:

“[A] 2005 survey stated that 49.5% of cigarette sales to blacks were Newport’s. Newport Classic full flavor cigarettes were promoted for many years as a cigarette that allows you to “Enjoy full flavor menthol, without drowning out pure tobacco taste.” In the mid 1980s, Newport began an advertising campaign that courted African Americans in urban areas. In two years, Newport’s became the fifth most popular cigarette on the market. A 1998 Massachusetts Department of Public Health report indicated that Newport’s alongside unfiltered Camel cigarettes contained the highest levels of nicotine in cigarettes on the market. In the following six years, Lorillard Tobacco increased the amount of nicotine in Newport’s by 10%. ”

During my search of why so many black people smoke Newport’s, I found that white people are just as perplexed.  Most felt it was just a stereotype but they hadn’t seem to notice the marketing.  I do find it troubling that Newport’s are almost exclusively marketed to blacks, then the nicotine level was increased.  They also have fiberglass as an ingredient.  Let’s take a look at their advertising over the years.

There are literally hundreds of these ads.

Interesting…