hypothesis for smoking

• The industry’s damage

A California without Big Tobacco isn’t just possible, it’s already happening

Two california cities have ended the sale of tobacco products 1 2.

I don’t sell vapes. No profit is worth that ugliness.

A convenience store owner protects her family and her neighborhood by not selling vapes.

Big Tobacco is targeting us. So we’re targeting them back.

Three high schoolers channel their outrage about nicotine harms into anti-tobacco advocacy.

I started vaping to try to deal with stress. I quit because of my son.

A young soldier started vaping to try to cope with stress in the military – and quit to be a better role model for his son.

We tackled vaping head-on. It’s the only way we know.

When Coach Sanchez learned his players were vaping, he recruited their families to help raise the standards on and off the field.

As two cities end tobacco sales, and smoking and lung cancer rates drop, a California without Big Tobacco is already happening. 1 2 3 4 5

Nicotine Equals Brain Poison

Nicotine is an extremely addictive poison and neurotoxin that is especially dangerous for young people’s developing brains. 6 7 8 9 10

Big Tobacco’s Fantasyland

Big Tobacco’s trying to sell us a future without smoking, where vapes are a “safer alternative.” 11 12 Their deception is dangerous – and deadly. 13 14

The Little Big Lie

Cigarette butts are made of microplastics – tiny toxic fibers that pollute our environment and could harm us all. 15 16 17 18

Flavored tobacco is out. Saving lives is in.

A new law ends the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including vapes and menthol cigarettes, and helps protect all Californians from a lifetime of deadly addiction – especially our kids. 19 20 21

Tobacco industry’s damage

Influence, manipulation & deceit, death & disease, addicting kids, racism & injustice, environmental destruction, in the news, banning menthol cigarettes: california-based advocacy group joins suit against federal govt..

Urged on by LGBTQ+ Activists, California Cities Weigh Stricter Smoking Rules

Santa Rosa approves ban on e-cigarette, flavored tobacco sales

Yurok Join War on Tobacco with unprecedented policy

Smoking Rates Fell After a Ban On Menthol Cigarettes

Supreme Court leaves California’s ban on flavored cigarettes in place

California’s Anti-Smoking Push Spurs Big Savings on Health Costs

Voters approve California law banning flavored tobacco

Protect the people and places you love

It only takes a moment to add your voice to the fight and protect Californians from the tobacco industry’s harms.

Send a letter

Voicing your concerns to your local officials makes a difference.

Send a tweet

Together CA is undoing Big Tobacco’s deadly epidemic. We can:

• Ensure kids grow up w/out the industry’s poison
• End deadly secondhand smoke exposure for good
• Eliminate tobacco product toxic waste in our communities
• Ensure diverse communities aren’t exploited
• Beverly Hills City Ordinance No. 19-O-2783. June, 2019. Accessed June, 2024. https://www.beverlyhills.org/DocumentCenter/View/814/Ordinance-No-19-O-2783-PDF
• Action on Smoking & Health California. Phasing out the sale of tobacco products: Case Study Manhattan Beach. Updated September 2021, Accessed June, 2024. https://endtobaccoca.ash.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CS_ManhattanBeach_V1_Final.pdf
• Neuling H. Key state-specific tobacco-related data & rankings. Updated January 3, 2024. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://assets.tobaccofreekids.org/factsheets/0176.pdf
• California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Prevention Program. California Tobacco Facts and Figures 2024. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Public Health; May 2024. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CTCB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/ResearchandEvaluation/FactsandFigures/CaliforniaTobaccoFactsAndFigures_2024.pdf
• California Cancer Registry. Age-adjusted invasive cancer incidence rates in California; lung and bronchus, 1988-2017. Accessed June 24, 2024. https://www.ccrcal.org/retrieve-data/data-library/#273-205-statistical-tables-1665511786
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Health Promotion and Education, Office on Smoking and Health, 1988. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://digirepo.nlm.nih.gov/ext/document/101584932X423/PDF/101584932X423.pdf  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nicotine: System Agent. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Updated May 12, 2011. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750028.html
• Mishra A, Chaturvedi P, Datta S, Sinukumar S, Joshi P, Garg A. Harmful effects of nicotine. Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol. 2015;36(1):24-31. doi:10.4103/0971-5851.151771
• Abreu-Villaça Y, Seidler FJ, Tate CA, Slotkin TA. Nicotine is a neurotoxin in the adolescent brain: critical periods, patterns of exposure, regional selectivity, and dose thresholds for macromolecular alterations. Brain Res. 2003;979(1-2):114-128. doi:10.1016/s0006-8993(03)02885-3
• Goriounova NA, Mansvelder HD. Short- and long-term consequences of nicotine exposure during adolescence for prefrontal cortex neuronal network function. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012;2(12):a012120. Published 2012 Dec 1. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a012120
• Tobacco Tactics. Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products. Published July 17, 2023. Accessed September 19, 2023. https://tobaccotactics.org/article/newer-nicotine-and-tobacco-products/#:~:text=Since%20the%20early%202000s%20transnational,)%2C%20snus%20and%20nicotine%20pouches
• Sy, D. Big Tobacco’s Investments in and Acquisitions of Pharmaceutical Companies. ExposeTobacco.org. Updated February 2022. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://exposetobacco.org/wp-content/uploads/STOP-Pharma-Brief-3.15.22.pdf
• Pisinger C, Godtfredsen N, Bender AM. A conflict of interest is strongly associated with tobacco industry–favourable results, indicating no harm of e-cigarettes. Preventive Medicine. 2019;119:124-131. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.12.011
• American Cancer Society. 10 really bad things the tobacco industry has done - and is doing - to entice kids to start smoking. Updated June 7, 2024. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://www.lung.org/research/sotc/by-the-numbers/10-bad-things-to-entice-kids
• Belzagui F, Buscio V, Gutiérrez-Bouzán C, Vilaseca M. Cigarette butts as a microfiber source with a microplastic level of concern. Science of The Total Environment. 2021;762:144165. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144165.
• Slaughter E, Gersberg RM, Watanabe K, Rudolph J, Stransky C, Novotny TE. Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish [published correction appears in Tob Control. 2011 Nov;20(6):418]. Tob Control. 2011;20 Suppl 1(Suppl_1):i25–i29. doi:10.1136/tc.2010.040170.
• Break Free From Plastic. Branded Vol. III Demanding corporate accountability for plastic pollution. Brand Audit 2020. Published 2020. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://brandaudit.breakfreefromplastic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/BFFP-Brand-Audit-Report-2020.pdf.
• Poma A, Vecchiotti G, Colafarina S, et al. In Vitro Genotoxicity of Polystyrene Nanoparticles on the Human Fibroblast Hs27 Cell Line. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019;9(9):1299. Published 2019 Sep 11. doi:10.3390/nano9091299
• Tobacco sales: flavored tobacco ban 2023. Assembly Bill No. 935. Accessed June, 2024. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB935
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK179276/
• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Designed for addiction: How the tobacco industry has made cigarettes more addictive, more attractive to kids and even more deadly. Published June 23, 2014. Accessed August 15, 2024. https://assets.tobaccofreekids.org/content/what_we_do/industry_watch/product_manipulation/2014_06_19_DesignedforAddiction_web.pdf
• Federal Trade Commission. Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2020. Washington, D.C.: Federal Trade Commission. October, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.ftc.gov/reports/federal-trade-commission-cigarette-report-2020-smokeless-tobacco-report-2020
• Open Secrets. Industry Profile: Tobacco. Summary of 2021. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/industries/summary?cycle=2021&id=A02
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the surgeon general. Office of Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published 2006. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/research/apr/reports/l4000a.pdf
• UCSF Industry Documents Library. Younger adult smokers: strategies and opportunities. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Published February 29, 1984. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/rkvk0045
• Anderson SJ. Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents. Tob Control. 2011;20 Suppl 2(Suppl_2):ii20-ii28. doi:10.1136/tc.2010.041939.
• Zarus GM, Muianga C, Hunter CM, Pappas RS. A review of data for quantifying human exposures to micro and nanoplastics and potential health risks. Sci Total Environ. 2021;756:144010. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144010.
• Jacob H, Besson M, Swarzenski PW, Lecchini D, Metian M. Effects of Virgin Micro- and Nanoplastics on Fish: Trends, Meta-Analysis, and Perspectives. Environ Sci Technol. 2020;54(8):4733-4745. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b05995
• Ziv-Gal A, Flaws JA. Evidence for bisphenol A-induced female infertility: a review (2007-2016). Fertil Steril. 2016;106(4):827-856. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.06.027.
• Campanale C, Massarelli C, Savino I, Locaputo V, Uricchio VF. A Detailed Review Study on Potential Effects of Microplastics and Additives of Concern on Human Health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(4):1212. Published 2020 Feb 13. doi:10.3390/ijerph17041212.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Trending Articles

• Streptococcus anginosus promotes gastric inflammation, atrophy, and tumorigenesis in mice. Fu K, et al. Cell. 2024. PMID: 39461336 No abstract available.
• Amino acid is a major carbon source for hepatic lipogenesis. Liao Y, et al. Cell Metab. 2024. PMID: 39461344
• Tobacco Smoke Plays an Important Role in Initiation and Development of Lung Cancer by Promoting the Characteristics of Cancer Stem Cells. Lu L, et al. Cancer Manag Res. 2020. PMID: 33116833 Free PMC article. Review.
• Global, regional, and national burden of injuries, and burden attributable to injuries risk factors, 1990 to 2019: results from the Global Burden of Disease study 2019. GBD 2019 Injuries Collaborators. Public Health. 2024. PMID: 39454232
• CAR-Macrophage Therapy Alleviates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. Wang J, et al. Circ Res. 2024. PMID: 39465245

Latest Literature

• Clin Infect Dis (2)
• Gastroenterology (2)
• J Am Coll Cardiol (3)
• J Biol Chem (9)
• J Neurosci (2)
• Nat Commun (45)
• Nature (53)
• Nucleic Acids Res (1)

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSH PMC Bookshelf Disclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.