A recent opinion piece by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute attempts to highlight the inequalities smoke shops are facing with the governor’s stay-at-home order, as they have not been deemed “critical businesses” (“CALDARA | Smoke shops shuttered, pot gets a free pass, under cockeyed COVID crackdown,” April 19).

He asks us to feel sorry for smokers, calling them a “hated and marginalized minority.” This an affront to those of us truly in the minority – those of us who have dealt with systemic racism and oppression, and who have been manipulated by the tobacco industry into smoking these cancer sticks.

Let’s talk about the true inequalities in our state. The coronavirus pandemic has put a spotlight on racial inequality as we are seeing elevated infection rates among people of color and black and brown residents dying from COVID-19 at a disproportionately high rate. This is a direct result of the economic, social and health system inequalities that affect people of color.

Jill Hunsaker-Ryan, executive director of the state’s health department, has been quoted as saying, “We know that social and health care inequities affect outcomes, and that becomes even more apparent in times of disaster. There have been generations of institutionalized barriers to things like preventive medical care, healthy food, safe and stable housing, quality education, reliable transportation and clear air.”

To take pity on smoke shops, as Caldara would like us to do, would be to ignore the decades-long marketing by the tobacco industry toward African Americans, who suffer the greatest burden of tobacco-related deaths of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, with approximately 45,000 deaths from a smoking-caused illness every year. We know smoking can worsen the illness caused by COVID-19, and unless we address the true inequities in our country, people of color will continue to die at higher rates from everything from smoking to pandemic diseases. 

Terri Richardson, M.D., is a Denver-area physician and vice chair of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative.