 | Dear John, Twenty-five years ago, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids was created to take on Big Tobacco and its horrific toll on health and lives. We’re marking that historic moment with Taking on the Toughest Fights, a year-long celebration of our successes and a renewed commitment to our future.  I’ve been honored and humbled to be here since the beginning. The tobacco landscape looks very different today than it did in 1996, and that's only possible because of the bold investments the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation made to launch our work; the ongoing support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CVS Health Foundation, among many others; the partnerships that are the hallmark of our successes; and the courageous efforts of all our staff, supporters, advocates, partners and individual donors. It is impossible to summarize the changes that have taken place during our quarter century of advocacy – and capture all the heart that went into our collective achievements – in one message. |
|  Among the highlights of our work together: In the U.S. - Lowering the teen smoking rate by 84% and the adult rate by 43%.
- Helping protect over 200 million Americans from secondhand smoke
- Raising the national tobacco sale age to 21.
- Increasing taxes and prices on tobacco products.
- Passing a landmark federal law giving the FDA authority over tobacco products.
- Advancing efforts to ban all flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes – critical steps to stop Big Tobacco from hooking kids and end the industry’s predatory targeting of Black Americans.
Across the Globe - 66 smoke-free countries.
- 139 countries that require graphic warning labels.
- 46 countries with tobacco ad bans.
- Establishing the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) in 2014 to boost the capacity of advocates working to address other urgent public health challenges.
Altogether, our collective tobacco control efforts have helped to save 7.8 million lives in the United States and over 35 million lives around the world. |
| Over the next year, we’ll be telling more of our story by amplifying the many voices and partnerships that played a key role along the way and showcasing major moments and milestones through a video series, social media and our annual Youth Advocates of the Year Awards. You’ll hear more from us soon. We’ll also be looking to the future and the work that still needs to be done to create the first tobacco-free generation and address other critical public health issues around the world. Here are three ways you can be part of Taking on the Toughest Fights: |
| 1. Support the Future of Youth Advocacy |
| |  | The fund honors tireless tobacco control champion and longtime Tobacco-Free Kids Board member Barrie Fiske, who consistently raised her voice to fight for change. Thanks to a close friend of Barrie, your gift to the fund will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $250,000. We aim to raise at least $500,000 for the fund in 2021. |
| | Thank you in advance for your support! |
| 2. Join us for our Storytelling Series |
|  The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Taking on the Toughest Fights Globally will take place virtually on June 24, 2021. Moderated by Yolonda Richardson, Executive Vice President of Global Programs, this webinar will showcase significant declines in tobacco use in countries around the world with several special guest speakers including Dr. Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, former Head of the FCTC Secretariat, and Dr. Kelly Henning, Public Health Program Lead, Bloomberg Philanthropies. Registration opens May 27th. Other stories in the series include a recent reflection on the beginning of our U.S. tobacco work, and future stories will highlight Youth Advocates as well as our Global Health Advocacy Incubator. |
| | 3. Save the Dates for Two Inspiring Events |
| - The virtual 2021 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards on September 29, 2021: 25 Years of Youth Advocacy. In addition to our 2021 honorees, we will celebrate the power, impact and legacy of youth advocates over the past 25 years and look ahead to our culminating anniversary event in May 2022.
- The 2022 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards on May 5, 2022, in Washington, DC: 25 Years of Taking on the Toughest Fights. We cannot wait to gather in person again to celebrate 25 years of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and its evolution and share bold new goals going forward.
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| Additional details to come. You can check back here often for updates: tfk.org/25years. I also want to take a moment to thank you for standing with us over the years. Our 25th Anniversary isn’t just a celebration – it’s a recommitment. We believed at the beginning, and still believe today, that all people deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life free from industry manipulation. We’re still fighting for health, for kids, for equity, for change, for you. On behalf of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, |
|  |  | Matt Myers
President | | | | |
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