Suit Claims Racist Tobacco Marketing
A Miami attorney has filed a $1 billion suit that claims tobacco companies targeted blacks with racist marketing tactics.
Solo practitioner J.B. Harris filed the suit on behalf of Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related illness, the Daily Business Review reports.
The suit claims the tobacco companies engaged in “marketing by racial profiling,” targeting blacks through churches and youth events.
The suit refers to a 1982 market report issued for R.J. Reynolds that read: “Blacks tend to buy less things to improve themselves, they appear less concerned about health-related issues … and are more prone to buy on impulse. … Blacks have less concern for the future and live from one day to the next. They buy products for instant gratification.”
