Faith United Against Tobacco is a multi-faith and multi-denominational coalition of churches and faith-based organizations. The tobacco industry has a long history of targeting kids, Black Americans and other populations with flavored products, contributing to significant health disparities. While the United States has made tremendous progress, we cannot let up in this fight as tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable death and kills nearly half a million Americans every year.
Our mission is to engage faith leaders and encourage their congregations and communities to advocate for policies that will protect kids and prevent tobacco use among populations that are disproportionately impacted.
We carry out this mission through:
Despite enormous progress in reducing smoking, tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and imposes a terrible toll on families and communities. Tobacco kills more than 490,000 people annually. Youth e-cigarette use also remains a serious public health problem. Currently, over 1.6 million youth use e-cigarettes — and 90% youth e-cigarette users use flavored products. This is unacceptable.
Faith leaders can play an important role in educating their communities and protecting them from the harmful effects of tobacco use by sharing resources about tobacco prevention and cessation services.
As trusted members of the community, it is important for faith leaders to advocate for proven policies that will prevent youth from using tobacco products and help tobacco users quit. These include:
Faith leaders have a responsibility to promote health, love and justice within their communities. By integrating tobacco prevention into your ministry, you can embody the teachings of scripture and lead congregants toward lives of health and wholeness. Let us unite in both prayer and action, seeking God's guidance as we strive to build tobacco-free communities grounded in faith, hope, love, and sound policy.
Faith in Action: James 2:14-17 emphasizes the importance of faith expressed through action. Leaders can actively demonstrate their faith by engaging in tobacco prevention efforts, working alongside their congregations and communities to create healthier environments and promote abundant life.
Stewardship of the Body: Scripture teaches that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Faith leaders have a responsibility to promote the well-being of their congregants, guiding them to honor and care for their bodies by abstaining from harmful substances like tobacco.
Healing and Restoration: Jesus ministered to the sick, offering healing and restoration to those suffering (Matthew 9:35). Tobacco use leads to illness and death, but faith leaders can emulate Christ's compassion by advocating for tobacco prevention policies and supporting cessation efforts to heal individuals and communities from America’s leading cause of preventable death.
Love for Others: Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). By promoting tobacco prevention policies, faith leaders demonstrate love and compassion for their neighbors, seeking to protect them from the physical, emotional and spiritual consequences of tobacco addiction.
Setting a Holy Example: 1 Timothy 4:12 encourages believers to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. By promoting tobacco-free lifestyles and advocating for smoke-free environments, faith leaders exemplify the principles of purity and healthful living to their congregations and communities.
Honoring Life as Sacred: Psalm 139:13-14 reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Tobacco use defiles the sacredness of life, but faith leaders can affirm the sanctity of our humanly existence by working to prevent tobacco-related suffering and death.
Justice and Equity: Proverbs 31:8-9 calls us to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves" and "defend the rights of the poor and needy." Tobacco use disproportionately harms marginalized communities targeted by the tobacco industry. Most notably, the tobacco industry has intentionally targeted Black Americans and other communities with marketing for menthol cigarettes — which are more addictive, easier for kids to start smoking and harder for smokers to quit than other cigarettes. This decades long marketing campaign is the primary reason why use of menthol cigarettes is highest among Black Americans: 88% of Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. Each year, over 50,000 Black Americans die from a smoking-caused illness. Faith leaders can uphold justice by advocating for policies that protect the vulnerable from tobacco-related harms.
There are many ways for faith leaders to weigh in and challenge lawmakers, the media and other community leaders to make youth tobacco prevention a priority at the federal, state and local levels. Some activities you might engage in are: