Meet Californians undoing Big Tobacco’s harms

No matter where they were at school – in the bathroom, the classroom, on the field – Layla, Galia, and Lizzie were surrounded by classmates using vapes. Horrified and saddened, they felt even worse when Layla’s beloved aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer after smoking and vaping for 30 years.

Devastated yet determined to do something, Layla founded Change Comes with Support (CCS) to address the issue of retailers who sell tobacco operating close to schools and near places where teens and kids gather.

“I was seeing my generation degrade from nicotine addiction. It made me want to teach them the negatives of tobacco,” says Layla. “If they know the long-term risks, I think they’ll stop.” 

Lizzie adds, “This is not just about access, it’s about the message it sends when tobacco is sold so close to our schools.”

Galia agrees. “We need to set clear boundaries that prioritize the well-being of our youth. It’s time to take action.”

Action is already happening. From presenting to city council members and the Tobacco Free Coalition of San Diego County to sponsoring billboards and tabling at youth events, the young activists of CCS are challenging Big Tobacco’s efforts to hook the kids on nicotine. 

Now, as these inspiring young activists graduate from high school, they remain committed to fighting against the tobacco industry – and for the end of dangerous addiction. 

The tobacco industry’s business model is to hook kids quick. Products like vapes and oral pouches contain nicotine, which is as addictive as heroin.12 Read how California’s flavored tobacco law aims to stop Big Tobacco from targeting kids and jeopardizing their health.  

In the 1980s, when Andrea was a salesperson at an insurance brokerage, she started getting sick – a lot. Her doctor asked two questions. Did her symptoms get worse at work? And did her colleagues smoke? The answer to both was yes.

Andrea did some research and learned that since the health risks of secondhand smoke were well established, working in a smoke-choked office amounted to assault and battery by her employer. 

One lawyer, one lawsuit, and three years later, Andrea settled her case. Although the road to her unprecedented victory had been really rough – Andrea’s medical records were shared at work, and she was forced to go on disability – she knew she was doing the right thing. 

“People said to me, ‘Well, there’s nothing you can do.’ Her response? “I’ll be damned if that’s true. If nobody else is stepping up, you’re nominated.” 

Andrea’s activism continues today. Since California passed the nation’s first smokefree workplace law in 1995, Andrea has helped other employees enforce the statewide policies. 

Looking back, Andrea is incredibly proud of what she’s achieved. “I made my point, I’ve done my thing, and it’s out there in the news. It was really liberating.”    

Secondhand smoke and vape is toxic and contains cancer-causing chemicals.4567 The good news is Californians are legally entitled to a smoke-free workplace. More importantly, all Californians have a right to live and work in tobacco- and nicotine-free environments. Here are secondhand smoke resources to protect yourself, get help, and report an issue about exposure.

Growing up in a tough neighborhood and surrounded by people who smoke, Keenan says he was “brainwashed” at an early age to think cigarettes were cool. At 11 years old, Keenan started sneaking puffs from his mother’s leftover butts. Smoking made him feel “macho,” like the Black cowboys he and his mom hung around with. 

It didn’t take long for him to realize, “Oh, I’m really addicted.” He tried to hide his addiction from his family, spraying himself with cologne to cover the smell of smoke. 

Over time, Keenan saw friends and loved ones get sick and even die from smoking-related illnesses. He watched as cigarettes left his “wild and crazy” mom barely able to walk or breathe without an oxygen machine. When she died from a tobacco-related illness, he was heartbroken – and determined to make a change. After being a smoker for 15 years, “I opened my eyes and realized, I can’t continue to do my body like this. I can gain back ten years of my life by stopping smoking now.”

Keenan had another powerful motivation for quitting. As a Compton Cowboy, he and his crew work with horses to provide a positive influence on the young people in their community. “Inspiring kids to be the next Black cowboy keeps me waking up every day,” he says. “When I quit smoking, I committed to something bigger. I choose to live. It’s not just a part of my Compton Cowboy story; it’s a part of my personal story.”

Big Tobacco deliberately makes products that are hard to quit because our addiction is their profit. Like Keenan, you can break this dangerous and deadly cycle with science-based quit programs like Kick It California which provides trained Quit Coaches ­– for free.

Maria, a Mexican-American convenience store owner, has owned La Paloma Market for 24 years. She made the decision not to sell vapes and doesn’t advertise cigarettes or other tobacco products in her store. Maria is sensitive to the few older customers who are addicted to cigarettes and keeps a small amount on hand.

As a mom of a 16-year-old son, Maria says she “wouldn’t want stores selling vapes to my kid, so I’ve never sold them.”

Maria is also deeply protective of the neighborhood kids, many of whom are the grandchildren of her earliest customers. She believes selling vapes is simply unfair. “Children want to buy them, but they’re no good.” 

Maria’s goal is to keep the next generation free from Big Tobacco’s grasp. At the end of the day, her philosophy is simple: “I don’t sell vapes. No profit is worth that ugliness.” 

Despite a tobacco-industry created myth, research shows tobacco products are not essential for retail store survival and revenue from tobacco sales only accounts for a small portion of overall sales.89 At La Paloma Market, Maria and her family proudly put people before profits.

Growing up in a troubled home, football offered Coach Sanchez both a refuge and a mentor who was a powerful role model. Now, after 25+ years of coaching high schoolers, Coach Sanchez believes winning isn’t about scoring touchdowns and making tackles. It’s about showing character and integrity, both on and off the field.

That’s why, when he found out his star linebacker was using nicotine, Coach Sanchez called an emergency team huddle. His athlete had warned him about the team using tobacco products – “It’s bigger than you think, Coach” – but Coach Sanchez was shocked to learn nearly every player had tried vaping. A mandatory meeting with all the parents followed, and Coach got another shock.

“I asked, ‘Who here thinks their kid is vaping?’ No one raised their hand. I said, ‘You’re all being snowed.’”

Coach Sanchez empowered parents to “step up” and figure out why, when, and how their kids were vaping. In a surprise move, he also promoted the star linebacker who’d used nicotine to team manager, figuring he’d be “the best cheerleader” to help the team stay nicotine-free.

Coach’s ultimate goal? “To see a positive thing come out of this negative.”

“By the end of the season, they were phenomenal,” he says of his team. From athletic ability to team unity to morale, “they grew more as a family than I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Nicotine is a neurotoxin that’s especially dangerous for developing brains and can amplify anxiety, depression, mood swings, and learning difficulties. That doesn’t stop Big Tobacco from targeting young people, who they see as the “replacement” customers. Download this guide to help keep kids safe from nicotine products like vapes and pouches with a list of telltale signs of nicotine use and resources for helping teens quit.

For the Yurok tribe, or “down river people,” tobacco is sacred and plays an important role in rituals and traditions. In contrast, Big Tobacco’s commercial tobacco products put the Yurok community at an increased risk for addiction, disease, and death.10

“The damage from the tobacco industry — it goes back years in our bloodline,” explains Annelia, who leads efforts to limit Big Tobacco products on tribal land. “It’s so important that we reclaim our sacred ways.”

Because “the tobacco industry has only caused devastation,” Annelia and her tribe are taking steps to heal the cultural and physical wounds caused by Big Tobacco. “We’ve limited the commercial tobacco products we sell within the reservation and banned flavored vapes,” she says.11

She hopes these decisions will protect the people and places she loves. “We’re reclaiming our culture back from Big Tobacco.” Such efforts, says Annelia, “gently remind us to take better care of ourselves and our community.”

The tobacco industry preys on Native American communities like the Yurok tribe by exploiting ceremonial and religious traditions that involve sacred tobacco.1213 Such cultural abuse by Big Tobacco contributes to alarmingly high rates of smoking and harm from secondhand smoke in American Indian communities, as well as in other underserved and vulnerable populations. Find out more about how racism, injustice, and the tobacco industry go hand in hand.

Forty years after opening its doors in Orange County, CA, a lot of things about the Thành Mỹ restaurant remain the same: high quality comfort food, friendly service, and a steady stream of loyal customers. But for Tran, owner and chef since 1979, one thing is dramatically different. “When we started, people always smoked. The smell of cigarettes left us breathless.”

Tran recalls how the thick clouds of smoke made the restaurant workers look “very tired.” The stench of cigarettes permeated their clothes, hair, and skin. All that changed in 1995, however, when California became the first state in the US to ban smoking in the workplace – including in restaurants.14

While the ban upset some customers – “We’d have shouting matches,” remembers Tran – the staff was “very, very happy.” Tran says that thanks to the smoke-free law, “the atmosphere is much cleaner.”

Best of all? “The restaurant smells like food again.”

California led the nation with its revolutionary ban on smoking in the workplace, including in restaurants, creating a climate in which the tobacco industry’s products are less desirable, acceptable, and accessible. The California experience continues to demonstrate that although difficult, it is not impossible to succeed against a force as rich and powerful as the tobacco industry.1516

Isaiah was born to dance. Whether it’s hip-hop, contemporary, or praise dancing, moving to the music has always made him feel alive, focused, and at peace, with himself and the world. 

He joined the military at 22 to provide financial stability for his then girlfriend and their infant son. While deployed overseas, he felt stressed and lonely. Isaiah’s fellow soldiers introduced him to a new product called a vape, which he started using to ease his anxiety about being away from his young son and get through the long truck drives from Kuwait to Iraq. 

“Tobacco is huge in the military,” says Isaiah. “It didn’t dawn on me that vaping was a problem because everyone was doing it.”

When he came back home, however, he got a hard reality check. “I caught my son trying to hit my vape. He’s a little me. He does everything I do.”

Right then and there, Isaiah made a decision. “That was it. I had to quit.” 

“Whatever I gotta’ do,” he decided, “I’m gonna’ do it.” 

Today, Isaiah works in security and is still a member of the military. But he no longer battles stress by reaching for a vape. Instead, he dances. Whether he’s instructing a dance class for the Compton Divas, practicing with a partner, or moving to the beat in his own living room, it’s a healthy, feel-good solution that works, every time. 

Big Tobacco wants us to believe nicotine products like vapes can help us relax and cope with stress.17 Truth is, nicotine is brain poison and it can amplify feelings of anxiety and depression.41819 Read about how nicotine is a nightmare for our bodies and brains, and get free support from a Quit Coach at Kick It California.

As a self-described “weird” Korean kid who grew up in Germany and then moved to California, Frankie found friendship and connection through music. It was 1983, MTV had just debuted, and Frankie was obsessed with bands like Mötley Crüe and KISS. “I watched every video and every interview,” she recalls. “Everyone was smoking. Cigarettes were synonymous with being cool.”

No wonder Frankie remembers feeling “cooler with a cigarette in my hand.” But while it was initially “really easy” to smoke anywhere, over time, it got harder. Eventually, people could only light up outdoors, and those groups got smaller and smaller. 

As all of Frankie’s friends quit, she felt “really embarrassed” and self-conscious to still be in the clutches of nicotine addiction. There was the nasty smell. The constant cravings that interfered with her work. The flights she missed because she was outside taking one last drag. When the shame got too much, Frankie knew she had to quit. 

Ditching cigarettes hasn’t diminished her passion for music. In fact, Frankie’s passed her obsession to her teenage daughter and is thrilled they share the same taste in bands. Best of all, Frankie says that none of their favorite musicians smoke – because nicotine addiction is no longer cool.

The tobacco industry exploits time and place to hook the next generation of customers – youth.2021 Initial experimentation gives way to habits that Big Tobacco encourages through aggressive marketing and availability, reinforcing what kids and teens consider rebellious, social, and cool.2021 There is nothing cool about brain poison.422

As a program of the California Department of Public Health, UNDO is one of the nation’s leading public health programs – fighting to end Big Tobacco’s deadly epidemic in California. Learn more about OUR MISSION.