Protect our children and communities from dangerous tobacco products!

Tobacco corporations have shamelessly targeted kids and communities of color for decades to attract them to tobacco products - and get them hooked.

The result is life-long addiction and higher risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.  Making matters worse, both secondhand smoke and aerosol from e-cigarettes put non-smokers at risk, too. Black children, in particular, are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke than any other racial demographic.

Currently, communities are able to pass measures to protect their residents from the effects of tobacco, like smoke-free ordinances, as well as other important public health measures. Protecting communities' rights to enact these measures is why the American Heart Association is mobilizing advocates to fight for local action.

Good ideas often start locally. Community residents and leaders understand their own needs and know how best to address them. When people in a community work together to develop a solution, the state should help champion it—not strike it down or stifle innovative thinking as they cater to special interests. We should be listening to communities, not corporations.

With smoking identified as a risk factor for severe coronavirus-related disease and death, it is more urgent than ever to help people quit. We have a shared responsibility to protect our children and communities from these dangerous and addictive products.

Sign the petition today to join the American Heart Association's fight for local action and help empower local communities to take additional tobacco control measures to protect health and reduce healthcare costs in their communities.