The Campaign for the Culture is an initiative of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids focused on uniting, empowering, educating and engaging people of color and other targeted communities around critical healthcare and human rights issues connected to tobacco use, with the goal of inspiring young community members to avoid or quit tobacco use. This comprehensive initiative includes: a cultural conversations series, HBCU listening tour, virtual summit, dinner series and advocate profiles.
The campaign is focused on the following core pillars:
- Educating the public and building awareness in Black and other impacted communities about the harmful effects of tobacco use.
- Engaging the medical community and appealing to providers for support.
- Mobilizing NGOs, policy experts, community leaders and key stakeholders to activate ground-level support for policies and actions.
Rooted in Justice: Youth Advocacy at the Crossroads of Health and Culture
Aired November 18, 2025
MOST RECENT EVENT
Rooted in Justice: Youth Advocacy at the Crossroads of Health and Culture
Aired November 18, 2025
Young people are increasingly at the forefront of the fight for health justice, and their voices are reshaping conversations about health equity in communities of color. In this installment of our Campaign for the Culture conversation series, we brought together young leaders who are confronting systemic barriers and uplifting their communities through bold, culturally-rooted action. We explored how identity, lived experience, and culture inform youth engagement in our movement – from tobacco prevention and control to broader efforts to promote healthier communities and support public health policies. We heard from emerging advocates and reflected on the transformative power of youth-led change in the fight for health justice.
PAST EVENTS
Cuts and Consequences: Current Threats to Tobacco Control and Reducing Health Disparities
August 19, 2025
Rising & Resilient: Transforming the Generational Impact of Big Tobacco on Black Lives
February 21, 2024
Clearing the Smoke: Effective Tobacco Cessation Strategies
December 13, 2023
Beyond Pride: Overcoming Barriers to Health Equity for the LGBTQI+ Community
October 25, 2023
Beyond the Barbershop: An Open Conversation About Black Men's Health
June 15, 2023
Creating Change from the Ground Up: How Black Women Are Leading the Way to Health Equity
March 8, 2023
Native Communities vs. Big Tobacco: How an Industry Commercializes, Exploits and Misrepresents Traditional Practices for Profits
November 2, 2022
When the Smoke Clears: Intersection of Nicotine Addiction and Mental Health
August 18, 2022
A Conversation With Faith Leaders: Standing Up and Speaking Out Against Big Tobacco
June 8, 2022
Get Your Advocacy in Shape
February 8, 2022
Answering the Burning Questions: What Parents, Students and Educators Need to Know About Vaping and Tobacco Use
August 18, 2021
For Our Future: African American/Black Youth Across America Speak Out About Health Disparities in Their Communities
April 28, 2021
A Conversation on Intergenerational Tobacco Use and Its Cultural Impact on Black Communities
February 24, 2021
The Take Down
The Take Down is a series of candid interviews about tobacco use and advocacy within communities most impacted by Big Tobacco’s tactics.
In Conversation with Dr. Glenda Gill
In Conversation with Jamie Najera
In Conversation with Diamond Miller
In Conversation with Teresa Thomas-Boyd
In Conversation with Dr. Valerie Yerger
In Conversation with Ed Sanders and Kellie Hawkins
In Conversation with Shauvon Simmons-Wright
In Conversation with Earl Fowlkes, Jr.
In Conversation with Dr. Larider Ruffin
In Conversation with Laphonza Butler
In Conversation with Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson
In Conversation with Dr. Elena Rios
In Conversation with Bryce Moore
In Conversation with Lincoln Mondy
My Family’s Relationship With Tobacco
About This Issue
For decades, the tobacco industry has targeted Black Americans, especially youth, with marketing for menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products like flavored cigars.
The tobacco industry’s predatory marketing has had a devastating impact on Black health and lives. Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black Americans, claiming 45,000 Black lives each year. Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by tobacco use and die at higher rates than other groups from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the Black community.
Now there is growing evidence that smoking and other tobacco use can increase risk for Covid-19, which has so disproportionately impacted Black Americans. There has never been a more important time to stop the tobacco industry from targeting Black Americans and other groups, prevent kids from using tobacco and help more tobacco users quit.
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