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Our mission

We have been leading the fight to protect Californians from the tobacco industry for more than 30 years. Because we deserve healthy lives, lower healthcare costs, tobacco-free communities, and an environment free of the tobacco industry’s toxic waste. And kids should grow up without the tobacco industry poisoning their childhood.1

Every day, we work to undo the tobacco industry’s damage and restore every Californian’s right to health and wellness.

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We’ve been holding the tobacco industry accountable for over 30 years

2000 +

local policies passed to protect Californians from the tobacco industry’s damage.2

2nd lowest

adult smoking rate3 and one of the lowest youth vaping rates in the US.4 But, tobacco use is still the #1 cause of preventable death in California and the US.5

$51.4 billion

over 30 years kept out of the tobacco industry’s pockets.6

15.7 billion

fewer packs of cigarettes sold in the past 30 years.7

1 million +

lives saved.8

$500 billion

saved in healthcare costs.9

42.8% decrease

in lung and bronchial cancer rates in California.10
Stanton Glantz
Dr Tim McAfee
Ruth Malone
Jackie Kaslow

“

One of the real insights that UNDO had from the beginning was that smoking is a socially constructed behavior … Baseball cards were invented by the cigarette companies. They wanted to associate tobacco with sports and just normalize it.

Dr. Stan Glantz - Director (retired), UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education

“

Because of the way the tobacco industry has targeted certain populations, UNDO has been very clear that it does not want to leave any group behind.

Dr. Tim McAfee - Former Director, CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health

“

I refuse to accept the idea that these products are with us forever.

Dr. Ruth Malone - Professor Emerita (recalled), Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF

“

If nobody is smoking, we won’t have jobs anymore. And that will be a wonderful tradeoff.

Jackie Kaslow - Project Director, Red Medicine Tobacco Prevention Project
lady in a garden wearing a head scarf

Hold the industry accountable

California has already protected people from other harmful products,11 12 and it’s time to hold the tobacco industry to the same standards.
Raise your voice against the tobacco industry
  1. Gentzke AS, Creamer M, Cullen KA, et al. Vital Signs: Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(6):157-164. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6806e1.
  2. American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation. U.S. Tobacco Control Laws Database. no-smoke.org. https://no-smoke.org/materials-services/lists-maps/. Accessed March 3, 2022.
  3. CDC. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Overview. 2020.
  4. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/results.htm.
  5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. Surgeon General Priority: Tobacco. hhs.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/tobacco/index.html. Reviewed May 14, 2019. Accessed March 23, 2022.
  6. Lightwood J, Anderson S. Health Care Cost Savings Attributable to the California Tobacco Control Program, 1989 to 2018. San Francisco, CA: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco;2020.
  7. Lightwood J, Anderson S. Health Care Cost Savings Attributable to the California Tobacco Control Program, 1989 to 2018. San Francisco, CA: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco;2020.
  8. California Department of Public Health. California’s Award Winning Tobacco Control Program Marks Its 20th Anniversary [press release]. April 7, 2009. Accessed March 24, 2020.
  9. Lightwood J, Anderson S. Health Care Cost Savings Attributable to the California Tobacco Control Program, 1989 to 2018. San Francisco, CA: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco;2020.
  10. California Cancer Registry 1989 vs California Cancer Registry 2017. https://cancer-rates.info/ca/.
  11. Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Making California First in the Nation to Ban Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics [press release]. gov.ca.gov. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/30/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-making-california-first-in-the-nation-to-ban-toxic-chemicals-in-cosmetics/. Published September 30, 2020. Accessed March 23, 2022.
  12. Landmark California law bans 'forever chemicals' in products for infants, children [press release]. ewg.org. https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2021/10/landmark-california-law-bans-forever-chemicals-products-infants. Published October 5, 2021. Accessed March 23, 2022.