FIGHTING BACK IN CONCORD
CONCORD YOUTH & TOBACCO
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Cheap Tobacco Products Are Sold In Concord Stores
Convenience stores and other tobacco retailers in Concord sell cheap cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (aka vapes) and cigarillos (some for less than $1). These highly addictive products are designed by the tobacco industry to be attractive, easier to use and more affordable for kids. Over 25% of these stores are within 1,000 feet of a school.
Photo: Donovan Seymour
Underage Youth Can Get Them Easily
If you are thinking, “But kids can’t buy these products, right?” think again. In 2018, 19 of Concord’s 92 tobacco retailers were visited by an underage youth decoy and 7 of the stores sold to them (36.8%).
© California Department of Public Health
Stock photo. Posed by model.
MDUSD Students Know
Where to Go to Get Tobacco
You can also ask young people themselves. Half of Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) juniors say that it’s easy to get cigarettes, and nearly two-thirds (64%) say the same about e-cigarettes. Also, most underage youth in the U.S. get tobacco from local stores, not online.
LGBTQ+ Youth In Concord Use More Tobacco
LGBTQ+ youth feel more stress because of discrimination, which makes them more likely to use tobacco.
Queer MDUSD juniors are more than twice as likely to feel hopeless or always be sad — and 7x more likely to smoke — as other juniors.
E-cigarette use among MDUSD juniors is already disturbingly high at 15%, but the rate among queer youth is higher still: 21%.
Stock photo. Posed by model.
© California Department of Public Health
The Monument Is Packed With Tobacco Stores Targeting Minority Youth
Racial minority youth feel greater stress from social injustice, and Big Tobacco has been targeting them for decades.
This can be clearly seen in the Monument Corridor, which is more crowded with tobacco stores than anywhere else in Concord. All over the country, areas with more black and brown youth have more tobacco stores closer to schools, greater tobacco discounts, and tobacco advertising easily visible to young kids. The more tobacco ads kids see, the more they use tobacco.
The solution:
Tobacco Retail Licenses (TRLs) put teeth into tobacco laws by making sure retailers will lose their ability to sell tobacco if they sell to kids. TRLs can also stop the sale of e-cigarettes and flavors; raise prices to make them less affordable for teens; reduce the number of tobacco stores in minority areas and more.
Contra Costa County, and 208 other Bay Area and California cities and counties have Tobacco Retail Licenses that have helped to protect youth from tobacco in their communities.