Jump to full article: Louisiana Weekly, 2007-04-30
Author: Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA Washington Correspondent
Intro: Like millions of former users of illegal substances, Richardson, a Marine machine gunner with two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry simply doesn't have the brawn to give up cigarettes. The drug he now craves is nicotine.
"It's not a matter of logic," he tries to explain his once two-pack-a-day habit that he has now been able to hone down to a half pack. "I can't explain it. There is no high. There is no rewarding feeling. It's just a desire to inhale. It's quite an absurd phenomenon. At the end of every cigarette I'm saying, "Why did I smoke it? I don't want it. And within 10 minutes the urge is right back."
It's no secret. On May 17, 1988, nearly 19 years ago, Surgeon General C. Edward Coop issued a 618-page report on addictions in which he said cigarettes are as addictive as heroine and cocaine.
. . .
Robertson also confirmed that racial oppression could also be among the reasons that African-Americans struggle harder to quit smoking. . . .
Among other factors that cause African-Americans to struggle to quit smoking:
- The lack of availability of smoking cessation programs in the Black community.
Richardson says he is about to join such a program through the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Richmond, Va., where he lives. But, Robertson says such programs are rare in the Black community.
- The fact that three out of four African-Americans smoke mentholated cigarettes.
A CDC report, "Pathways to Freedom," says that three out of four Black smokers buy mentholated cigarettes, the most dangerous of all brands.
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