We Stand Strong and Take Care of Our Own
Rural and frontier communities are harmed more by tobacco and nicotine than many other communities or groups. People who live in rural areas use tobacco more than people who live in urban areas. We also experience higher rates of health issues related to tobacco and nicotine.1 In fact, people in rural areas have 18-20 % higher rates of lung cancer death than people who live in urban areas.2
It’s no mystery why our communities see tobacco’s worst effects. For decades, the tobacco industry has targeted young, rural men with its advertising. For more than 40 years, tobacco giant Philip Morris (now Altria) used its Marlboro Man character to present its deadly products with the rugged independence of the American West. The industry has used other images, like cowboys, hunters, and race-car drivers to sell cigarettes and chewing tobacco3 — both in the media and at events like rodeos.
Because tobacco companies target rural areas, more people here smoke—and they smoke more—than people in cities.4
