This post is brought to you by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. All opinions are my own.
I have multiple family members that have died due to smoking and lung cancer, so I’m constantly stressing the importance of staying tobacco-free to my daughter. She knows that smoking is bad and has vowed to never pick up the habit, but I never thought about the example I have been leading by shopping in stores that openly sell tobacco products.
That’s why I’m making a commitment to shop with tobacco-free retailers as much as possible, and to put pressure on other retailers to stop selling tobacco products and go tobacco-free— just as CVS has recently done.
Why Shop Tobacco-Free
Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States, killing 480,000 Americans each year. A startling 5.6 million kids alive today will die prematurely from smoking unless we take action now to prevent it. Responsible retailers can help save lives and create a tobacco-free generation by choosing not to sell tobacco products. We, the consumers, can support them by shopping tobacco-free.
How to Find Tobacco-Free Retailers in Your Area
Shoptobaccofree.org is a fantastic resource for finding tobacco-free retailers in your area. I used the zipcode search feature on the homepage of the website to see where I could shop tobacco-free locally. In addition to CVS, Target, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and Aldi came up in the Bradenton-Sarasota area. While not as nearly retailers as I hoped, it’s realistic that I could do all of my shopping between these five stores.
Make sure to search your zipcode to see which retailers in your area are tobacco-free.
While your on the Shop Tobacco Free website, scroll down to the bottom and “Thank” the retailers that are already tobacco-free. You can also send messages to Walgreens, Walmart and Rite-Aid telling them to go tobacco-free now.
More Reasons to Shop Tobacco-Free
- Tobacco use costs our country at least $289 billion a year in health care bills and lost productivity.
- 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18.
- Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.
- Tobacco companies spend over 90 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.
- An estimated 375,000 retail stores sell tobacco products in the U.S. The widespread availability of tobacco products sends a terrible message to kids that tobacco use is normal, acceptable and appealing.
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!
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobaccofreekids
- Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/tobaccofreekids
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/tobaccofreekids
