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Anti-tobacco advocate says menthols target blacks 

A national anti-tobacco advocate said Wednesday a federal class-action lawsuit alleging tobacco companies violated African-Americans' civil rights by marketing more-dangerous menthol cigarettes in their communities is "more about acknowledgment than money."

"The industry has not acknowledged that menthol, by itself, is a danger," said the Rev. Jesse W. Brown Jr., acting executive director of the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery.

Brown, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, is speaking today to state anti-tobacco groups at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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