The well-known first Menthol Cigarette was created occasionally. It happened in 1920s, when a young man named Lloyd “Spud” Hughes had been receiving treatment for his cold symptoms with menthol. He kept the menthol crystals in the same tin with his smoking tobacco. As a result, these two substances mixed up and there appeared a new less irritating cigarette.
He started producing the first Menthol Cigarette brand in 1926 under the name Spuds. However, there was not one single brand. Very soon there were introduced competitive brands (e.g. the cigarettes brand Kool). It is interesting to note that the brand used a famous penguin as a marketing character. The brand Kool was manly focused on throat comfort. Thus, the cigarettes manufacturers tried to emphasize the medicinal nature of this special product. If someone else wanted to smoke the cigarettes – it was only for one’s benefit. (“In between the others, rest your throat with Kools”). …
Nowadays, African American smokers adore these Menthol Cigarettes most of all. But anyway, it is important to know what inspires them. That is why there were gathered groups of African American chain smokers. There were discussed different topics: smoking behavior and preferences, social influences, health effects and harmfulness of menthol, quitting menthol cigarette smoking, the influence of marketing and advertising of menthol cigarettes as well.
There was discovered that Menthol Cigarettes help these sections of the population to integrate into the “white” society. There was observed a strong competition between the White people and Black people (African Americans smoke menthol cigarettes and whites smoke non-menthol cigarettes). The smokers, who preferred non-menthol cigarettes, had less interest in giving it up.
Summing it up, Menthol Cigarettes were regarded as the positive moment of the smokers’ life. Moreover, people achieved positive results with the help of these cigarettes smoking (integration into the society).