Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids | Global Health Advocacy Incubator

This monthly newsletter highlights the impact of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) across the United States and around the world.

FORWARD PROGRESS

Overdose Prevention Team Joins White House Event to Celebrate Passage of MAT Act
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s Overdose Prevention Initiative [[link removed]] team participated in a White House event [[link removed]] to celebrate passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which will save lives by expanding treatment options for people with addiction. The MAT Act is “an example of smart legislation bolstered by successful advocacy,” Libby Jones, project director of the Overdose Prevention Initiative, said in a statement [[link removed]] .

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Challenge to Los Angeles County Law Banning Flavored Tobacco Sales
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear [[link removed]] tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds’ challenge to Los Angeles County’s law banning sales of flavored tobacco products, leaving in place a lower court ruling upholding the law. This is a major victory for kids and public health. It should embolden states and cities across the U.S. to take similar action. Tobacco-Free Kids strongly advocated for the law and helped to defend it in court.

Philippines Marks 10th Anniversary of Tobacco Tax Increase, Progress in Reducing Tobacco Use
The Tobacco-Free Kids team joined health advocates in the Philippines in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Sin Tax Reform Law [[link removed]] , which increased tobacco taxes, and its tremendous impact in reducing tobacco use. Health advocates estimate there are six million fewer smokers today in the Philippines because of tobacco taxes, saving 60,000 lives in 2022 alone. According to the World Health Organization [[link removed]] , adult tobacco use in the Philippines dropped from 30% in 2009 to 20% in 2021. Tobacco-Free Kids provided significant support to Filipino advocates who pushed for the law and is supporting current efforts to further increase tobacco taxes.

Colombia Implements Two Major Healthy Food Policies
Two new healthy food policies will go into effect this year in Colombia [[link removed]] after being adopted in 2022. Both policies – a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed products, as well as new front-of-package warning labels for foods high in sugar, sodium, trans fats and fats or with any sweeteners – follow years of advocacy by Colombian civil society.

Legislation Proposed in New York State and Cleveland to End Flavored Tobacco Sales
Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York [[link removed]] and Mayor Justin Bibb in Cleveland [[link removed]] have proposed legislation to end sales of flavored tobacco products, adding to national momentum for such action. Along with local partners, Tobacco-Free Kids is leading advocacy campaigns to enact these measures into law. These policies are aimed at stopping the tobacco industry from targeting kids, Black Americans and other communities with flavored products, including menthol cigarettes, flavored e-cigarettes and flavored cigars.

Global Youth Mobilization Conference Features Tobacco Control Insights
Bintou Camara Bityeki, director of Africa programs for global tobacco control, shared insights about youth advocacy during the opening ceremonies of the virtual Global Youth Mobilization conference. The session [[link removed]] was hosted by prominent global youth organizations and supported by the World Health Organization and United Nations Foundation. Along with offering advice for youth advocates and organizations that support them, Bintou discussed the Global Young Ambassadors network, which Tobacco-Free Kids launched [[link removed]] in Istanbul, Turkey, in October.

MoU with Maldives Paves Way for Health Data Systems Strengthening
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) [[link removed]] with the Maldives' Department of National Registration, the country’s civil registration agency housed within the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. The MoU establishes a strategic partnership to mobilize domestic resources to create an integrated and sustainable civil registration and identity system that helps improve public health data in line with international best practices.

Constitutional Court in Mexico Upholds Tobacco Advertising Ban
A Constitutional Court judge in Mexico [[link removed]] recently ruled against large tobacco retailers, including Walmart Mexico, and kept in place a newly implemented ban on all tobacco advertising, including product displays. A recent participant in Tobacco-Free Kids’ global Legal Fellowship Program, Michell Castillo, drafted the implementing decree for the new law, which also provides for 100% smoke-free public places.

U.S. Cigarette Sales Have Dropped 70% Since 1981, FTC Finds
Underscoring the enormous progress the United States has made in reducing smoking, a new report by the Federal Trade Commission [[link removed]] shows that U.S. cigarette sales have fallen by 70% in the past 40 years — from 636.5 billion cigarettes sold in 1981 to a record low 190.2 billion in 2021. Tobacco-Free Kids issued a statement [[link removed]] highlighting policies that have driven this progress, particularly cigarette tax and price increases, and called for action to ban menthol cigarettes, which now make up 37% of the U.S. cigarette market.

VOICES IN THE FIGHT

Join Our Next Campaign for the Culture Virtual Conversation: March 8
The next installment of our Campaign for the Culture virtual conversation series is scheduled for March 8 at 4:00 p.m. EST on the topic “Creating Change from the Ground Up: How Black Women Are Leading the Way to Health Equity.” Register for the event [[link removed]], and join us to learn about the tobacco industry’s targeting of Black communities and women and what we can do to end it.
REGISTER [[link removed]]

Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action: March 31
Our Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action [[link removed]] is fast approaching on March 31. It’s a day for young people to stand up and speak out against the tobacco industry. This year, we’re again calling Big Tobacco’s bluff and exposing them for who they really are: jokers who gamble with people’s lives.
LEARN MORE [[link removed]]

IN THE NEWS

Analysis: Banning Menthol Cigarettes Would Close Racial Cancer Gap in U.S.
Due in large part to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing of menthol cigarettes, Black Americans die at higher rates from cancer and other tobacco-related diseases. A new analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations [[link removed]] finds a U.S. ban on menthol cigarettes would quickly close disparities in lung cancer death rates among Black Americans. Tobacco-Free Kids is urging the FDA to quickly finalize and implement its proposal for such a ban.

Flavored E-Cigarettes Remain Widely Available in California Despite New Laws
STAT News reported [[link removed]] that flavored e-cigarettes are still widely available in California vape shops despite state and local laws prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products. Tobacco-Free Kids called on California and its localities [[link removed]] to strongly enforce these laws, arguing that letting tobacco companies and retailers get away with blatant lawbreaking puts kids and communities at risk. “The nation's eyes are on what California does,” said Tobacco-Free Kids President Matt Myers.

GHAI Contributes to Guide on Global Best Practices for CRVS Registration
GHAI contributed to “ The health sector in civil registration: options and methods to increase registration of live births, stillbirths and deaths [[link removed]] ,” an addendum to the WHO/UNICEF guidance Health sector contributions toward improving the civil registration of births and deaths in low-income countries.

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About Us
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is the leading advocacy organization working to reduce tobacco use and its deadly consequences in the United States and around the world. The Global Health Advocacy Incubator builds on the successes and lessons learned in the fight against tobacco to support advocates working to tackle other critical public health challenges across the globe. Together, we are taking on the toughest fights in public health and working to create a more equitable, just and healthier future for all.

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