Communities that are predominantly low-income are highly profitable in the eyes of Big Tobacco, so they target them in hard-hitting ways. Not only do these neighborhoods have the highest density of stores selling tobacco products,1 but in these communities the tobacco industry also offers the lowest prices on packs of cigarettes and products such as little cigars and cigarillos, which can cost less than a dollar.2 Big Tobacco works to keep an endless supply of cheap and easily accessible products flowing into these communities to keep people hooked.
Big Tobacco has even handed out free cigarettes to children living in housing projects and tried to issue tobacco discount coupons with food stamps.34 California’s working families need more opportunities, not attempts by Big Tobacco to hook children to deadly products.
Find out more about what each organization is doing to fight the tobacco industry's predatory tactics.
The Sustainable Health Advances in Rural Environment (SHARE) project, in partnership with the Health and Social Policy Institute (HASPI), addresses exposure to secondhand smoke in low-income housing and tribal casinos in rural communities of northern California. SHARE conducts educational community outreach, builds relationships with key stakeholders to develop smoke-free policies and engage the community to advance objectives.
Tobacco’s impact on health disparities in California
For decades, the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted California’s diverse communities with predatory practices. Internal documents from Big Tobacco outline their strategies – many of which are shocking attempts to peddle deadly products by way of product discounts and manipulative advertising. They even gave away free products to youth in the past. These tactics masquerade as support for communities under the guise of cultural celebration.
Unfortunately, the tactics have worked. Big Tobacco aggressively targeted communities and, as a result, some populations have higher rates of tobacco use, experience greater secondhand smoke exposure at work and at home, and have higher rates of tobacco-related disease than the general population.5
Addressing tobacco-related health inequities is key to California’s efforts to fight tobacco, our state’s number one cause of preventable death and disease.6 Tobacco use, pricing, and its impact across California were analyzed where significant disparities were found across various populations. See how Big Tobacco affects each community in the Nation’s most diverse state.
