Dear John,

Happy New Year. We hope you are rested and ready for the year to come. 2023 has the potential to be one of the most pivotal years in our fight to drive down tobacco use, address health disparities and save lives, both in the United States and around the world.

Fighting Tobacco in the U.S.

In the U.S., we have an unprecedented opportunity to finally stop the tobacco industry from targeting kids, Black Americans and other communities with flavored products. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is committed to doing everything we can to achieve this goal:

• We will push the FDA to keep its promise and ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars – a truly historic step to protect kids, advance health equity and end the industry’s predatory targeting of Black communities with these products.
   
• We will continue to highlight the severity of the youth e-cigarette epidemic and the urgent need for the FDA to clear the market of the flavored products driving this nicotine addiction crisis.
   
• We will step up our work at the state and local levels to pass laws ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products – including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. California’s new law, overwhelmingly upheld by voters in November, provides tremendous momentum for these efforts.

Fighting Tobacco Around the World

Globally, we will seek to solidify the hard-won gains we have made in many countries, look for new ways to make progress in countries where policy change has slowed, and build sustainability in the tobacco control movement at the local level:

• We will focus on increasing tobacco taxes – one of the most effective policies for reducing tobacco use – in low- and middle-income countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia and Ukraine.
   
• We will counter the industry’s aggressive marketing of emerging products like e-cigarettes by pushing for strong regulations in countries experiencing sharp increases in youth use. And, building on the launch of a global network of young tobacco prevention ambassadors in 2022, we will mobilize young advocates around the world to stand up to the tobacco industry and urge their countries to take lifesaving action to reduce tobacco use.
   
• We will work with local coalitions and national lawmakers to pass new comprehensive tobacco control laws – and protect existing laws from Big Tobacco's attempts to weaken them.

Everywhere we work, we face an emboldened tobacco industry that understands what is at stake for their addiction-fueled business. Despite the industry’s attempts to spin itself as part of the solution, Big Tobacco continues to aggressively market their deadly and addictive products and fight public health policies that protect kids and save lives. We see through the obvious smokescreen, and we will continue to fight for our kids’ health over a cynical industry’s endless thirst for profit.

Tackling Other Critical Public Health Challenges

In addition to our fight against tobacco, our Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) will continue to apply our advocacy experience and expertise to tackle other critical public health challenges across the globe. GHAI will work alongside local partners in more than 40 countries to advance policies and budgets on critical issues including Food and Nutrition Policy, Road Safety, Health Systems Strengthening and Overdose Prevention.

• We will continue helping countries to budget for epidemic preparedness and response while supporting health systems strengthening with new projects for immunization advocacy and infectious disease prevention as well as the launch of a new toolkit for health data systems budget advocacy.
   
• Our Food and Nutrition policy team anticipates the adoption of new healthy food policies, such as a law to limit trans fats in Nigeria, and the implementation of recently adopted health taxes and nutrition warning labels in Colombia.
   
• Our Road Safety team is looking forward to new legislation that will reduce death and injuries on the road, including legislation covering child restraint seats, seatbelts, helmets, speed limits and drunk driving in Vietnam.
   
• In the U.S., GHAI’s Overdose Prevention Initiative will continue to advance policies to address the overdose crisis and save lives.

John, we hope you, and every single person that makes up this vital public health movement, recognize the tremendous, lifesaving impact of our collective work.

Thank you for standing with us. Here’s to even more critical progress in 2023, and a more equitable, just and healthier future for all!

Onward,
Matt & Yolonda