Sacramento, Calif. — A broad coalition of elected leaders and public health organizations, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), has launched a campaign, urging California voters to vote “YES” to protect kids from the dangers of tobacco use.
After spending millions of dollars, the tobacco industry qualified a referendum for this year’s ballot to stop implementation of a statewide law (Senate Bill 793) that ended the sale of fruit- and candy-flavored tobacco including menthol cigarettes. A “NO” vote will allow Big Tobacco to overturn the lifesaving legislation and get away with its latest attempt to maintain profits at the expense of public health.
The most recent California Student Tobacco Survey found that close to 29% of California High school students have used tobacco. Nationally, 2 million middle and high school students said they used e-cigarettes in the first half of 2021 and 85% reported using flavored products, according to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey.
The following is a statement from ACS CAN California Managing Director Jim Knox:
“The tobacco industry deliberately uses menthol and other candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products -- including e-cigarettes -- as an alluring and deceptive gateway to tobacco use. Most kids who have ever tried tobacco started with a flavored product that they mistakenly perceived as less harmful.
“Tobacco addiction still leads to a third of cancer deaths in California and the nation. If we want to help protect young people from a potential lifetime of addiction and save lives from the serious health effects stemming from tobacco use, we must end the sale of flavored tobacco products.
“We urge Californians to vote ‘YES’ and halt the tobacco industry’s use of flavors to target youth, populations with lower incomes, communities of color and the LGTBQ+ communities, which has led to a disproportionate cancer burden.”