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YOUR VOICE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Send an email to your local decision-maker. Ask them to protect people in your community from the tobacco industry. Together, we can keep our kids safe. Enter your name and choose your county to send an email to the chair of your county commission. We encourage you to personalize your email by sharing how tobacco has personally affected you, your loved ones, or your community.

Message your Commissioner

Dear Commissioner ,

I’m concerned about the impact tobacco has on our community.

The tobacco industry heavily promotes its products to children and young people, using fruit and candy flavors to lure them in and hook them on nicotine. The industry targets communities that have faced racism and other discrimination. It also targets people earning lower incomes, and people who are stressed or struggling. The tobacco industry fights to keep tobacco and nicotine products cheap and accessible. Altogether, these industry tactics make it easier for young people to start and harder for people who are addicted to quit.

Here are a few important things that I think you should know:

  • Oregon has a strong history of keeping cigarettes away from children and teens, but now vaping is everywhere. This is no accident: The tobacco industry spends about $100 million each year in Oregon on promotional marketing and advertising for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Even the most dedicated parent can’t stand up to that kind of spending on their own.
  • Flavored vaping and tobacco products are appealing to young people. Flavors mask the harsh taste and feel of tobacco, and many young people are unaware of how harmful these tobacco products are.
  • In addition to flavors, tobacco manufacturers have started selling vaping products, pouches, gums and lozenges using lab-made “synthetic nicotine” that is highly addictive.
  • Tobacco use is not only a health issue — it’s an environmental issue too. Tobacco waste (butts, wrappers, e-capsules, spit residue, spit containers, etc.) pollutes soil, beaches and waterways. Cigarette butts are the most frequently littered item. In addition, e-waste from electronic cigarettes and vapes, such as batteries and cartridges, are a major environmental concern because they are not reusable or recyclable and require hazardous waste disposal.

I ask for your leadership to hold the tobacco industry accountable. Together, I know we can keep our community safe.

Thank you,

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