OUT Against Big Tobacco is a coalition in California that wants to remove the tobacco’s industry noxious influence from our health and politics. Tobacco use is outright bad for everybody, affecting even nonsmokers via the just as dangerous secondhand smoke. But tobacco use is significantly more likely among LGBTQ+ people. Considering that the LGBTQ+ community has endured much, and still faces many hurdles, outing tobacco out of our lives would be a boon.
Here’s an excerpt from their website:
Tobacco Use: What We Know
For decades, Big Tobacco has preyed on the LGBTQ+ community, targeting us through their marketing campaigns, getting us hooked on their deadly products. The result? LGBTQ+ people are more than TWICE as likely to smoke as our non-LGBTQ+ peers, and nearly 30,000 LGBTQ+ people across the country die every year of tobacco-related causes.
The OUT Against Big Tobacco Coalition is taking a stand! We were victimized. We will not allow them prey on us any longer. They don’t respect our existence, but they will respect our resistance.
What We Do
We’re fighting back; fighting for the institutional changes required to save our next generation from the predatory practices of Big Tobacco. Enough is enough. Big Tobacco has the money, but we have the power of the people.
We stand and fight for policy changes targeted to reduce the tobacco-related health disparities within our community. We are fighting to enact the following policies throughout Los Angeles County and California’s Central Valley region:
- Restrict the availability of ALL flavors in ALL tobacco products. No Exceptions.
- No longer allow the use of discounts and price reduction promotions for the purchase of ANY tobacco product.
- Create a culture of tobacco-free Pride celebrations
- Remove the influence of Big Tobacco from California State elections