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We see the billboards on display near our schools, the ads flooding our social media feeds, and the candy and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes crammed into our local convenience stores — all clear attempts to lure youth like us. With flashy colors and even built-in video games, these sleek devices try to disguise tobacco as a fun escape rather than what it really is: a devastating trap leading to a lifelong nicotine addiction. We are the Ramsey County Student Action Team, a small but mighty group of youth advocates determined to end the cycle of harm perpetuated by Big Tobacco. We’ve witnessed the impact of tobacco use and nicotine addiction on our peers, family members and communities, and we refuse to let this insidious industry continue to target us. We come from different high schools, backgrounds and interests, but we are united by one mission: to hold the tobacco industry accountable and fight to protect our generation. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health means a federal lifeline that has long funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs across the country is gone. Related: Teens use Halloween to combat candy-flavored e-cigarettes In Minnesota, that office provided nearly $1.6 million in support for everything from our state’s quit line to community outreach and youth education. Without these funds, families won’t be able to access critical tools to fight addiction, and kids like us will face an even steeper uphill battle against an industry that is spending billions to get us hooked on their products. Despite progress, the reality is that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing nearly 500,000 Americans each year and draining more than $241 billion in health care costs. Here at home, the toll is just as devastating: 5,900 Minnesotans die annually from tobacco-related disease, and annual health care costs directly caused by smoking exceed $2.9 billion a year. These are not just numbers. They are families, friends and neighbors whose lives are directly impacted because Big Tobacco puts profits over people. That’s why our voices matter. We know the industry is targeting us, but we also know change is possible — because we have been the change. Our group has testified at city council meetings, pushed for local flavored tobacco bans, met with state legislators and rallied at the state Capitol. Our efforts have strengthened policies in Vadnais Heights, Arden Hills and New Brighton. We’ve helped to end local sales of flavored e-cigarettes and other commercial tobacco products, cap the number of retailers allowed to sell tobacco products and increase fines for retailers who break the law. Each step forward is a reminder that when young people speak up, we can protect our communities and chip away at Big Tobacco’s power. Related: Big Tobacco and its LGBTQ marketing Now, we need the adults in the room — especially lawmakers in Washington — to stand with us against Big Tobacco and fully restore federal funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. We know we can’t do this alone, and we’re thankful for champions like U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, she opposed the cuts to the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and has been a strong supporter of tobacco control. We need more lawmakers to follow her lead and put kids’ health first. Big Tobacco will do anything to grab our attention. They flood our communities with candy flavors, flashy devices and relentless marketing, all with the strategy of hooking kids early and keeping us addicted for life. Today, the trap that the tobacco industry has set for each new generation is as clear as ever. With the elimination of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, that trap is poised to snap shut, taking countless families and communities with it. It is past time to hold Big Tobacco accountable for its actions. It is past time to prevent future generations from being the next target. And finally, it is past time for every lawmaker to stand with us against the industry’s reign of harm — once and for all. Clara Seeley, Summer Balfanz and Mỹ Linh Nguyễn lead the Ramsey County Student Action Team, which advocates at the state and local levels in Minnesota for effective policies to prevent youth tobacco use. Their efforts earned them national recognition as the 2025 Group Youth Advocates of the Year from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
