The GW Cancer Institute (GWCI), in partnership with the DC Department of Health, is working to address youth smoking in the District. Through health education and advocacy, GWCI is raising awareness among DC residents about the dangers of youth's access and use of tobacco products. In addition, GWCI is training tobacco retailers about the legal and health impact of selling tobacco products to minors.

Young smokers have strong addictions to nicotine, a drug found in tobacco products. Those smokers that start as youth will lose an average of 13 to 14 years off their life. Tobacco's toxic ingredients make all smokers at risk for cancers, lung diseases, heart disease, Diabetes ('Sugar'), Stroke and even Osteoporosis.

In order to protect our youth from harm, community members and tobacco retailers have a legal obligation to follow the law in DC. Youth should not continue to have access to purchase any tobacco products. Unfortunately, kids know which places will illegally sell to them. Tobacco is sold at pharmacies, carry-out restaurants, liquor stores, gas stations and in convenience stores. To address the problem of retailers selling to youth, we are training selected retailers of tobacco laws and health risks for youth. We ask all trained retailers to teach their business communities. GWCI will provide extra information and printed materials to trained retailers.

Sadly, we know that 1 in 3 youth start to smoke because of advertising alone. Tobacco companies advertise directly to youth, especially African American/Black and Latino. This means that many kids are targeted to become lifetime smokers because of their racial and ethnic identity. Therefore, we focus our health education towards D.C.'s African American/Black and Latino youth and their caregivers and parents.

Through our work to prevent cancer and protect youth, we provide education and information to diverse communities across DC. Our goal is to increase awareness and community knowledge about the harms of smoking. Our community partnerships with neighborhood organizations, faith-based organizations and long-time non-profits in DC allow us to teach residents across DC. Our conversations with communities are truly informative, realistic and non-judgmental. We aim to provide resources and education to the community to improve the health status of our youngest DC residents.