Mission:
To reduce tobacco use and the death and disease it causes in the United States and around the world and to realize a future free of tobacco's devastating toll by advocating for public policies that prevent children and youth from smoking, help smokers quit, and protect all from secondhand smoke.

About the Organization:
Established in 1996, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids works to promote public policies proven to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, including higher tobacco taxes, comprehensive smoke-free laws, well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs, and strict regulation of tobacco products and marketing. The campaign also works to strengthen regulations, expose and fight the tobacco industry's efforts to market products to children, mobilize organizations and individuals in the fight against tobacco use, empower a tobacco-free generation by fostering youth leadership and activism, and inform the public, policy makers, and the media about the consequences of tobacco use and the effectiveness of policies designed to curb it.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a founding member of the Framework Convention Alliance, a coalition of more than three hundred and fifty nongovernmental organizations from more than a hundred countries formed to support negotiations that led to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and ensure the framework's proper implementation.

Current Programs:
In the U.S., the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids conducts advocacy campaigns at the national, state, and local levels in support of policies that reduce tobacco use. The campaign monitors and advocates for pending legislation; researches tobacco industry developments and trends; publishes fact sheets, reports, and issue briefs; and drafts electronic petitions. Its youth initiatives include the Youth Advocates of the Year Awards, which recognize individuals who have fought hard to promote tobacco prevention legislation, expose tobacco marketing to children, and keep peers from using tobacco. The campaign also sponsors Kick Butts Day, a national day of activism that encourages youth to speak up and take action against tobacco use at events across the country.

Outside the U.S., the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, a $375 million effort to combat tobacco use in developing countries, where more than 80 percent of the eight million tobacco-related deaths a year occur. The organization also provides legal, media, and research support to governments and NGOs worldwide to help them promote, adopt, and implement tobacco-control policies. As part of this initiative, the campaign is coordinating with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease to provide grants to governments and NGOs in low- and middle-income countries to accelerate progress on the tobacco-control front.

Web Site:
Visitors to the site can learn about key federal, state, local, and international issues related to tobacco control, download fact sheets, and sign an electronic petition urging elected officials and corporate leaders to push for changes in tobacco-control policies. The organization's global site tracks tobacco consumption and its health consequences, characteristics of the tobacco industry, and policy status of fifteen "priority countries" and also outlines international solutions, while the Tobacco Control Laws site enables users to search for tobacco litigations, laws, or legal analyses by country. Visitors to the main site also can follow the Tobacco Unfiltered blog, which highlights the latest legal and legislative developments, research, and trends; sign up to receive e-mail updates; and make a donation to support the campaign's efforts.

Funding:
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is supported by individuals, foundations, corporations, and other nonprofit organizations; it does not accept any government or tobacco industry funding.