Youth Make Their Voice Heard on Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action, Urging Elected Officials to End the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products

By Boot Bullwinkle, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

In 1990, an R.J. Reynolds salesman asked an executive what age groups the cigarette giant was targeting with its marketing campaigns.

“They’ve got lips? We want them,” the executive replied.

More than three decades later, the tobacco industry remains relentless in its efforts to target young people and hook them into a lifetime of addiction. Today, tobacco companies lure kids with candy- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, flavored cigars, and menthol cigarettes that mask the harshness of tobacco and make it easier for young people to start. In 2022, over 3 million middle and high school students used tobacco products. About 80% of youth tobacco users report using a flavored product.

Across the country, cities and states are fighting back. Last November, California became the second state in the nation to end the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Columbus, Ohio passed a comprehensive flavor policy in December, as did Oregon’s Multnomah County, home of Portland.

In total, 25% of the U.S. population is now covered by laws ending the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. And efforts to end the sale of flavored tobacco products are gaining momentum elsewhere, including in Minnesota, Oregon, Maine, Vermont, and in cities such as Cleveland and Detroit. This momentum is the result of passionate advocates and leaders fighting to protect their communities from Big Tobacco — and young people are critical to this movement.

On Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action, youth and health advocates across the country rallied together to stand up to the tobacco industry and demand that elected leaders end the sale of flavored tobacco products fueling youth addiction. Organized annually by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, this year’s event featured over 250 in-person events in communities across the country, educating and inspiring thousands to make their voice heard and take action.

Youth advocates in Grand Island, Nebraska before their Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action event. [Photo Credit: Northwest High School Student Council (Instagram: @ginwstuco)]

Youth advocates in Salem, New Jersey before their Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action event. [Photo Credit: Incorruptible Salem (Instagram: @incorruptible.salem)

This year, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action encouraged advocates to call Big Tobacco’s bluff and expose them for who they really are: jokers who gamble with people’s lives. Whether it’s flavored tobacco products, flashy PR/marketing campaigns, or the same old playbook used to hook kids for decades, youth demonstrated to show that they will not be fooled by Big Tobacco’s deceptions and lies.

In Hawaii, Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action came at the perfect time as state lawmakers were deliberating over policies to end flavored tobacco sales and implement a tax on e-cigarettes. The Hawaii Public Health Institute rallied nearly 100 youth advocates from 23 schools across the islands for a “honk and wave” event and met with lawmakers at the state capitol to share what youth are seeing in schools.

Youth advocates rally alongside Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D. [Photo Credit: Hawaii Public Health Institute (Instagram: @hubforhealth)]

Youth advocates pose after meeting with Hawaii Rep. Natalia Hussey-Burdick [Photo Credit: Hawaii Representative Natalia Hussey-Burdick (Instagram: @repnhb)]

“Youth were front and center of the whole event, delivering the workshops, hosting the press event and the ones doing the speaking in the lawmaker visits,” said Scott Stensrud, Statewide Youth Coordinator of the Hawaii Public Health Institute. “They are the ones being targeted by the industry, so elected officials need to see their faces and hear their stories when being asked to place people over profits.”

While the bill to end flavored tobacco sales unfortunately failed to move forward, advocates secured a tremendous victory as the legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 975 to tax e-cigarette products the same as other tobacco products. This win comes after nearly a decade of advocacy from local partners who now turn their attention to getting a policy ending flavored tobacco sales over the finish line.

“The explosion of youth vaping over the last 10 years has caused a health crisis in our schools and communities. Senate Bill 975 takes aim at the youth vaping epidemic by concentrating enforcement on the unregulated local and online vape market. This bill will reduce access and availability of electronic smoking devices to children and teens and stem the tide of vaping addiction overwhelming our schools,” said Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, (Senate District 24, Kāne‘ohe, Kailua), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

“After many years of advocating, it has been so encouraging to see the passage of SB 975,” Theresa Ng, a former youth councilmember of The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi told West Hawaii Today. “There is still much to be done about e-cigarettes and reducing their disparate impact in Hawaii. But it is a great time to celebrate this first win.”

In California, high school sophomore and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids National Youth Ambassador Connor Lam is another seasoned expert when it comes to putting on a successful Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action event. This year, his event featured fun, educational games that encouraged people, especially kids, to act.

“You have to keep it simple.” Lam said. “My audience was full of younger students, so I kept in mind to keep my games simple and carnivalesque for them to be motivated to come by.”

Connor Lam hosts a carnival themed Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action event in Pleasanton, California [Photo Credit: Connor Lam]

Lam was instrumental in successful state and local efforts to end the sale of flavored tobacco products in California. Now, his advocacy is focused on exposing how the tobacco industry is seeking to evade California’s law and building support for national policies like the FDA’s proposed rules to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

“Big Tobacco will always try to find loopholes and deceiving tactics to continue selling products,” Lam said. “It’s extremely important for decision-makers to hear from a youth perspective so they know how their actions impact us.”

The progress in Hawaii, California and nationwide is a testament to the power of youth advocacy in driving change. This is what Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action is all about, and there are countless more examples throughout the country of young people leading the charge to protect their peers and community from tobacco.

Cities and states across the country should take a cue from these young leaders and move quickly to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products and protect kids from a lifetime of tobacco addiction.

Visit takedowntobacco.org today to learn more and join the movement for a tobacco-free future.