Addictive and illegal nicotine/tobacco products are being sold across the country, and heavily marketed to youth, young adults, and especially communities of color, using predatory industry tactics.
This is why, through our activism work at truth, we're looking to engage and equip activists across the country (aka YOU!) with leadership and changemaking skills to recruit your peers to join the fight, take action, and engage directly with decision makers on the local, state and national level. By using your voice and sharing how nicotine/tobacco has affected you, your loved ones, and/or your community, we can show the need for immediate action from decision makers to protect our communities from the tobacco and vape industries.
Share Your Story
Share Your Story
Storytelling is a powerful tool in the world of activism, and we want to hear YOUR story. We want to hear about your experience with nicotine addiction or quitting vaping, whether it’s about how you've been impacted, or how your friends, family, and/or community have been impacted. If you or your loved ones do not have any experiences with nicotine/vaping, but you’ve taken action against it, we’d love to know that too.
Social Justice
Social Justice
Tobacco is a social justice issue. Big Tobacco has a long history of using predatory marketing tactics to target Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities. Today, vaping companies are following in their footsteps; using moves from an old playbook to profit from new products.
- Menthol cigarettes, which have a “cooling” flavor that masks the harshness of tobacco, have been strategically and aggressively marketed to Black Americans by using increased advertising and discounts in Black neighborhoods, appropriation of Black culture, and more.
- Similar tactics – including exploitative marketing and cultural appropriation – have been used to target LGBTQ+ and Indigenous groups.
- Today, approximately 81% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes; LGBTQ+ young people are 2x more likely to smoke than their heterosexual peers; and American Indian/Alaska Native youth have the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking among all racial/ethnic groups in the US. To learn more, watch both Black Lives / Black Lungs short films (linked below), by Director (and former truth Activist) Lincoln Mondy, which explore and detail all fifty years of Big Tobacco’s history of racism and predatory tactics.
Mental Health
Mental Health
Nicotine addiction is a mental health issue. There's a lot going on in the world that can impact our mental health. Many have turned to vaping to cope with stress, not realizing that nicotine addiction can actually make some mental health symptoms worse. In fact, research shows that nicotine addiction can *amplify* feelings of depression and anxiety. For literal decades, the marketing/PR messaging around cigarettes linked smoking to pleasure, well-being, a good disposition, fun, stress relief and relaxation, and tobacco companies have positioned cigarettes as a way to self-medicate–while also specifically marketing cigarettes to people with mental health conditions. We're here to set the record straight - nicotine addiction and good mental health do not go together.
We believe self-care can be a powerful form of activism, defiance, and even protest, especially when it comes to standing against the vaping industry whose predatory tactics and products have negatively impacted our generation’s physical and mental health. That's why we partnered with Breathwrk to create a custom, science-backed breathing exercise that can be used to relieve feelings of anxiety, reduce stress, and curb cravings. Take a breath--on your own or with friends--and join the fight.
Environment
Environment
Vapes and tobacco products are destructive to the environment. Trillions of cigarette butts make their way into the environment each year, and vape waste is only making the problem worse. Because e-cigarettes can contain toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and residual nicotine, their waste could be an even more serious threat to our water, air, and land. Tobacco companies have tried to position themselves as friends to the environment, but we know better.
In short, tobacco and vape trash isn’t just litter––it’s toxic waste. These industries are creating tons of harmful waste and are doing little to clean up their mess, so we're taking action. You can help any time by getting out and cleaning cigarette butts and vape waste from your public spaces. To order a free truth cleanup kit, send us an email at activism@truthinitiative.org.
