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My Time in the Tobacco-Free Retailer Network (and Why You Should Join!)

This post is brought to you by The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. All opinions are my own.

It’s hard to believe my time as a blogger in the Tobacco-Free Retailer network is coming to an end. While there’s still a lot of progress to be made, major accomplishments have been had— since the launch, 754 new stores across the country have signed on to be a part of the Tobacco-Free Retailer network! How incredible is that?

shop tobacco free

In my area, CVS, Target, Whole Foods and Fresh Market are the leading tobacco-free retailers. I try to buy from these retailers whenever I can to show my support for the campaign. I’m happy with this selection (how could I not love Target!?), but at times I do feel limited and I wish other major retailers would look past the bottom line and instead think of the future— I’m looking at you Walmart!!

It may not seem like a big deal to shop at retailers that sell tobacco products, like Walmart and Walgreens, but the reality is that when we do, we’re supporting a BILLION dollar industry that affects the lives of our children.

#shoptobaccofree

I know you’ve probably heard the statistics before, but they’re important and worth repeating.

  • Tobacco use kills 480,000 Americans every year – more than 1,300 people every day.
  • Tobacco use costs our country at least $289 billion a year in health care bills and lost productivity.
  • Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.
  • 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18.
  • 5.6 million children alive today will die prematurely from smoking unless current trends are reversed.

Tobacco companies spend over 80 percent of their annual $8.8 billion marketing budget at the point-of-sale in stores, and this marketing has been shown to increase youth tobacco use. By ending tobacco sales, retailers can help reduce kids’ exposure to harmful tobacco marketing.

Think about the future of your children the next time you shop at a retailer that sells cigarettes and tobacco products. Even though you may not be a smoker yourself, there’s a chance that your kids could be influenced by the advertising they see at the checkout line. The health, wellness and FUTURE of our children is worth the small inconvenience of only shopping at tobacco-free stores.

To maintain my role as a tobacco-free shopper I am going to plan more of my outings around Target, CVS, Whole Foods and Fresh Market. Luckily these are all stores I purchase from regularly, but I do still get caught up in Walmart when I’m on the other side of town.

I hope you’ll join the ongoing campaign by shopping tobacco-free. You can search your zipcode to see which retailers in your area are tobacco-free.

I also encourage you to tell the other retailers that to want them to go tobacco-free. Here’s the current Wall of Shame where you can send a message.

Help Create a Tobacco-Free Generation

You can join the shop tobacco-free movement by using all of the resources available at ShopTobaccoFree.org and supporting Tobaccofreekids.org with hashtag #ShopTobaccoFree. Feel free to grab the button below for use on social media!

shop tobacco-free

Will you join the movement & shop tobacco-free?

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