Social Justice

Tobacco Affects Those The Most Who Can Afford It The Least.

The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age affect a wide range of health, functions and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. This is especially true for tobacco use.

Advertisements by tobacco and e-cigarettes companies saturate low-income neighborhoods with price discounts and target youth, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, producing high smoking and e-cigarette rates in these groups.

Visit Tobacco Swamps Dashboard – ASPiRE Center to explore the proximity and density of tobacco retailers in Las Vegas.

Nicotine addiction resulting from tobacco and e-cigarette use causes people to spend money on these products instead of on household necessities or saving funds for the future.
These factors can create a disadvantage for people who use tobacco products. People addicted to nicotine through cigarettes use suffer from poor health outcomes and lack of choice.

Young people addicted to nicotine more likely will stay longtime tobacco users. Because of the impact of nicotine on young brains, young people may become addicted even before being able to define what addiction is. Their employment, health, and lifestyles will be limited by their nicotine addiction.

Tobacco companies have been trying to transform their image with non-combustible tobacco products by claiming they can be part of the “public health solution” to end smoking. They are using their new products like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, to exploit harm reduction strategies and attempting to position themselves as working alongside public health while aggressively growing its market base among youth and young adults.

It is not fair that the tobacco industry also known as the e-cigarette industry continue misleading consumers through the glamorized products, hooking new generations through misleading product claims, flavoring, easy access, and branding designed to ensnare youth. Curbing tobacco industry influence means promoting social justice over the tobacco industry and e-cigarette unfair tactics like flavoring.

According to the CDC, areas with large racial/ethnic minority populations tend to have more tobacco retailers, which contributes to greater tobacco advertising exposure and more shelf space in retail outlets for menthol products.

Nevada is working toward advancing fairness and justice in health. Justice involves addressing major causes of inequalities-like the harm that commercial tobacco causes in rural, LGBTO+, lower-income communities and people of color.

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