CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is launching a first-of-its-kind national campaign urging retailers to stop selling tobacco products.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing 480,000 Americans every year. West Virginia has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation.
Matthew Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is asking retailers to stop selling tobacco.
“Today, more than 20 retail chains with more than 13,000 stores across the nation no longer sell tobacco products, ” Myers said. “Our hope is that the remaining stores will join with them and join the campaign to create a healthier nation.”
Retailers like CVS, Wegmans and Target have already stopped selling tobacco products.
“We know that the more kids are exposed to tobacco products in the retail outlet, the more likely they are to smoke, so that by retailers going tobacco-free, they make a major contribution to reduce the number of kids in every community who smoke,” said Myers.
Myers said he believes that by ending tobacco sales and shopping tobacco-free, retailers and shoppers can help keep kids from ever using tobacco and ultimately create a tobacco-free generation.
“We have made enormous progress across the country and in West Virginia in reducing tobacco use, but in West Virginia close to 20 percent of all high school kids still smoke,” said Myers. “That’s a tragedy and it’s preventable.”
The campaign features a mobile-friendly website with an interactive map showing the locations of tobacco-free retailers across the country. Tobacco-Free Kids is also providing retailer and consumer toolkits featuring Tobacco-Free Retailer store window stickers, plus social media assets to help spread awareness in local communities.
More information on the campaign is available here.