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SAN FRANCISCO – Two University of California researchers say their review of industry documents shows tobacco companies have tried to boost their presence in the black community by targeting groups such as the NAACP, giving money and cultivating beneficial relationships. 

The research paper by UC San Francisco’s Valerie Yerger and Ruth Malone is to be published in the December issue of the journal Tobacco Control. The pair combed through about 700 tobacco company documents released over the past few years, and concluded the companies were contributing money to groups to increase their political influence. 

“It hasn’t been a secret that the industry has been in the African American community, what hasn’t been known were the secret business reasons,” Yerger said .