Tobacco Endgame Matters ASH CA

In this episode you'll hear from Ravena Soto, Project Coordinator for the Tribal Community Coordinating Center at ETR, Rachel Reif, Youth Engagement Coordinator for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, and Kortni Bennett, Project Coordinator for California's Clean Air Project. Our guests explain the difference between traditional and commercial tobacco, internal challenges for implementing tobacco policies, and the priorities that drive tobacco control efforts within tribal communities. 

In this episode, Robin Koval, Truth Initiative CEO and President, and Jordan Watkins, Truth ambassador and doctoral student at the University of Alabama, join ASH's Policy Director, Chris Bostic, for a conversation about Truth Initiative’s new position paper, Gamechanger: Shifting from Tobacco Control to Ending the Industry’s Influence for Good. They also get into detail about realistic goals for Endgame and impacts on communities most affected by the tobacco industry. 

In this episode, Lorraine Lathen, Jump at the Sun Consultant and Director of the City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance, joins Carol McGruder, co-chair and co-founder of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, for a conversation about No Menthol Sunday and its cultural significance to the African and Black community. Together, they discuss the opportunities that faith-based organizations lend to tobacco control efforts and the importance of knowing one's history when going up against Big Tobacco, an industry that has historically and intentionally targeted marginalized communities of color. 

In this episode, Dr. Elisa Tong, a Medical Director for the Stop Tobacco Program at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Karen Beard, a Clinical Psychologist from Los Angeles, CA, discuss their vast experience in tobacco control. They specifically talk about the opportunities that cessation or tobacco treatment offers the Endgame movement, and the success they've experienced as clinicians and medical experts. 

In this episode, Shelly Brantley, Project Director at Rural Initiatives Strengthening Equity (RISE), and Tashelle Wright, a health equity researcher, discuss the strategies necessary to implement tobacco policies in rural communities. During their conversation, they identify opportunities and challenges that impact how effectively endgame can be achieved and maintained in these areas.

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

The music in this episode is provided by Free Sound FX.
Subscribe to their channel here.

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

The music in this episode is provided by Free Sound FX.
Subscribe to their channel here.