Win $400
to host a No Menthol Sunday Event
(4 churches will be eligible)
Esteemed panelists including faith leaders will discuss policy, law enforcement and cessation
Faith leaders of African American, and Pan African congregations! No Menthol Sunday is Sunday May 18th.
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Join us and learn how to engage our communities to stop the number one killer of Black People.
DOWNLOAD OUR
NO MENTHOL SUNDAY TOOLKIT:
OFFICIAL EVENT: MAY 18
NO MENTHOL SUNDAY
MAY 18, 2025
“How Long Will You Target Me” focuses on how the tobacco industry uses flavored tobacco to target Black communities and other communities of color. This original piece shines a light on the importance of eliminating the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol.
In “I Already Know,” Ryon Everidge answers the question he posed in his debut American Heart Association-produced spoken word piece “How Long Will You Target Me?
Spoiler alert: The answer is as long as they can.
Tobacco companies make more than $55 billion in yearly profits in the U.S. alone and those dollars are made at the expense of people experiencing addiction. With this kind of money at stake, it is no wonder tobacco executives are doing everything they can to find new ways to skirt the laws designed to protect people’s health.
That is why when states like California and Massachusetts passed laws to protect health and remove their highly addictive menthol products from stores, Big Tobacco found a loophole. The industry introduced new menthol-like products to undermine progress in public health by using synthetic chemicals added to the cigarette filter to replicate menthol's distinctive cooling effects. This chemical agent produces similar, if not stronger, cooling sensations compared to menthol but lacks the minty aroma or taste.
This piece sends a clear message that to prevent tobacco-related death and illness, we need action. For decades, Big Tobacco has disproportionately targeted and addicted Black communities and inaction means more lives lost to smoking. With Washington, D.C. as a backdrop, Ryon ponders what those who fought for equity and justice for all would say as Big Tobacco claims 45,000 Black lives each year. As Ryon says: “Delays equal death and acting equals life. And the time to act is now.”
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