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Smoking gun: Blacks say menthol cigarette ads targeted them 

Michael York, a Washington, D.C., outside counsel for Philip Morris, told The Frankenfeld Report the suit was based on an "exotic theory" without legal merit. He called the target-marketing claim "preposterous" and said, "I can't think of any segment of our society that are not targeted, except people who are underage." . . The suit is proposed as a class action and at this writing was awaiting court certification as such. In the meantime, The Onyx Group, a marketing communications company in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is recruiting potential plaintiffs by asking African-Americans who have smoked menthol cigarettes since 1954 to call a toll-free phone number. Brown is vice president of The Onyx Group as well as founder of the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery and the Uptown Coalition for Tobacco Control and Public Health.

With respect to Big Tobacco's $206 billion payment, The Onyx Group is urging African Americans to ensure that a fair share of the money goes to help blacks break the habit.

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I can't think of any segment of our society that are not targeted, except people who are underage.
Michael York, a Washington, D.C., outside counsel for Philip Morris. . . Quoted in <i>Smoking gun: Blacks say menthol cigarette ads targeted them</i>