Imagine! What if there was a world without commercial tobacco?
Imagine! What if there was a world without commercial tobacco?
No more tobacco-related cancers like lung, colon, mouth and breast!
No more strokes and heart attacks caused by smoking!
No more Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma or kids with learning disabilities caused by exposure to second hand smoke!
Yes, that is what a world without commercial would be like if we had the political and community will to end it!
What is commercial tobacco? It’s cigarettes, vapes, chew, cigars, little cigars and cigarillos marketed with heavy amounts of nicotine with the intent to addict the user, making the user a life-long customer and in the process, filling their bodies with the more than 4,000 chemicals that cause hundreds of diseases and finally, an early death.
Traditional tobacco has been used by Native Americans and differs by Tribe. It is used in ceremonies, in offerings to the ancestors and has not been genetically engineered to have more nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco.
Who have you lost from commercial tobacco? Your mother, father or grandparent? Or spouse or best friend? It’s sad to say, but we all know someone who smoked, chewed and even vaped and then later became ill. How many of us have taken care of sick relatives or how long have they suffered from COPD or Emphysema, which last for decades, as we watch them slowly suffocate because they can’t breathe.
Now imagine a world without tobacco! Store shelves would have healthier foods like fruits and vegetables or other products we use. And guess what, we don’t have to imagine it anymore. We can act now and eliminate commercial tobacco so our children and future generations don’t have to imagine this world.
California has a goal to end commercial tobacco sales by 2035, but we don’t have to wait that long. We can start in our own communities and join cities like Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach who have already accomplished this; and join Pasadena who is currently working on this.
We can plan our own “End Game” of commercial tobacco.
Join the SOL Project!
Start by taking our survey and tell us what you think:
https://survey.alchemer.com/
The SOL Project (Saving Our Legacy: African Americans for Smoke-Free Safe Places) is a project of Heluna Health and is funded by California Department of Public Health under contract #20-10385.
