DURHAM, N.C. — In April, the FDA proposed rules that would remove menthol from flavored cigarettes and cigars.

The FDA estimates there are more than 18 million menthol smokers in the U.S. 

“I was a closeted smoker. I didn’t want anyone to know I smoked because here I was a public health professional, preaching against this, but in my personal life, I was addicted to the product," said Michael Scott, senior program manager for The Center for Black Health and Equity.

Scott was able to quit after being a smoker on and off for 20 years. 

While part of his career has included helping to take targeted menthol ads down, he knows mom and pop stores in primarily minority neighborhoods have a reason to keep them up. 

"The tobacco companies will pay retailers to take up that space and have these advertisements front and center, so when we are talking about mom and pop shops, that is a little bit of income they may miss out on if they take those advertisements down," Scott said. 

According to ASH, Action on Smoking Health, nearly nearly nine in 10 Black American smokers use menthol cigarettes. 

As marketing campaigns aimed at Black communities has increased over decades, so has menthol use.

“About 85% of Black smokers use menthol-flavored products, and that’s more than twice what we see in the overall use of menthol products," Scott said.

The FDA has only released a proposal on banning menthol, not an actual ban just yet. A decision could still be several months to a year or longer away. 

“The tobacco industry needs new smokers, so they need to bring the youth on board to get them addicted to these products and flavors are still the number one way they use to initiate new smokers," Scott said.

The agency will gather all of the information and public comments before making a decision on a ban.