Chicago mayor takes stand on menthol

Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of the U.S. city of Chicago, is trying to raise awareness about the danger of smoking menthol-flavored tobacco by using a new publicity campaign.

According to a story by Lewis Lazare for The Business Journals, the campaign has been put together by the Chicago Department of Public Health in conjunction with the LimeGreen/Chicago advertising agency.

The Don’t Get Burned campaign is part of the department’s Healthy Chicago effort that Emanuel is emphasizing.

The target audience for the new campaign—which includes television, radio and print—comprises young people the tobacco industry is said to be wooing with menthol-flavored tobacco products.

The print campaign features close-ups of the faces of young people on whom are scarred the words Big Tobacco. The copy reads: “Tobacco companies use menthol-flavored cigarettes to get you addicted. Don’t get burned.”

The city of Chicago maintains that menthol cigarettes cause more young people to take up smoking and then make it harder for them to quit.