When I was 18, I moved to San Francisco in order to pursue higher education in psychology. Living in a big city as a young adult who is new to adulthood, you become aware of issues that never once crossed your mind as a child. I quickly became aware of the economic disparity that affects SF natives due to big corporations targeting them.
One of the biggest issues is that big tobacco specifically targets low-income, minorities, and young people. As someone who identifies with all three, I can’t help but be outraged by the direct targeting of high-risk people to become life-long addicts that can lead to a multitude of illnesses, including death. Big tobacco has gotten away with this due to the lack of regulations and laws, they continue to find loopholes, but enough is enough. We can not continue the normalization of the addiction of tobacco due to the government prioritizing taxation over its own citizens.
Fighting for tobacco prevention for me is crucial because young kids of color deserve better than this, they don’t need any more direct targeting by big corporations, and most important they do not need tobacco or any tobacco-related products, as a matter of fact. Which is why I continue to fight for tobacco prevention in order to help the next generation blossom without the dependency on costly and deadly tobacco.