CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS

Our ultimate goal is to achieve a future free of the death and disease caused by tobacco.

To achieve our mission, we:

o Promote public policies proven to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. These include higher tobacco taxes, comprehensive smoke-free laws, well-funded tobacco prevention and stop-smoking programs, and tough regulation of tobacco products and marketing.
o Expose and counter tobacco industry efforts to market to children and mislead the public.
o Strengthen tobacco control efforts in the United States and worldwide by providing support and information to our many partners.
o Mobilize organizations and individuals to join the fight against tobacco.
o Empower a tobacco-free generation by fostering youth leadership and activism.
o Inform the public, policy makers and the media about tobacco's devastating consequences and the effectiveness of the policies we support.

Since 1996, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has advocated for scientifically proven, cost-effective solutions that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. We know how to win the fight against tobacco and the progress we have make since our founding demonstrates that these solutions work. We accept no government or tobacco industry funding and rely on contributions from individuals, philanthropic foundations, corporations and other non-profit organizations.

Smoking rates in the U.S. have fallen from over 42% in 1965 to 15% today. Smoking rates among youth have fallen from over 36% in 1997 to 8% today. In the U.S., 30 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus hundreds of cities and counties, have enacted strong smoke-free laws. A growing number of countries around the world have passed strong smoke-free laws.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States and around the world. If current trends continue, tobacco use will kill one billion people in the 21st century. Every year, tobacco kills more than 400,000 Americans and nearly six million people worldwide. Tobacco use causes some of the most feared and costly diseases, including cancer, heart disease and emphysema. It harms reproductive health and damages nearly every organ in the human body. We will not quit until every child is tobacco-free and we have eliminated the death and disease caused by tobacco.