In this episode, we are joined by Ruth Malone, Professor Emeritus at UC San Francisco and lead for the statewide UpEnd Tobacco Project, as well as Kim Homer Vagadori, Project Director of California Youth Advocacy Network. Ruth and Kim have worked in tobacco control for 20+ years. Together, they share their deep understanding of the tobacco industry's impact on Californians and how the state has continuously fought back. 

About ASH
ASH has been fighting tobacco since 1967. Our longevity is not necessarily something to celebrate – “mission accomplished” would mean going out of business, joyfully. Like most tobacco control organizations, ASH’s vision is a world free from tobacco-caused death and disease. But also like most tobacco control organizations, our campaigns sought to mitigate the epidemic, not end it. For ASH, that changed about five years ago.

The catalyst for the change at ASH was the adoption of a human rights-based approach to the tobacco epidemic. Analyzing the commercialization of tobacco products through that lens leads to an obvious conclusion: this stuff must be removed from the market.

The idea got a huge boost when the State of California decided to put its weight behind a true tobacco endgame campaign. This represents a paradigm shift in public health. California and its allies are no longer interested in just “controlling” tobacco. They’re in it to end it.

Learn more about ASH CA at endtobaccoca.ash.org

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