Video: How Colorado Youth are Fighting Injustice in the Tobacco Industry

UpRISE amplifies the voices of Colorado youth to expose how the tobacco industry abuses its power and engages youth in exploring and addressing the root causes of youth nicotine use.

When the movement began in 2018, 21 youth-serving organizations and schools statewide were established as UpRISE coalitions. UpRISE is led by a Youth Action Board and an Adult Advisory Board. 

Today, these coalitions continue to empower youth to fight the negative impacts of the tobacco industry, including:

• Marketing that targets youth
• Debt bondage and forced labor in tobacco production worldwide
• Exploitation of low-income populations
• Environmental impacts 
• Targeting of marginalized groups

This video from UpRISE shows how tobacco use and prevention can be viewed through a social justice lens, and how youth must be engaged in the fight for a more equitable world. The video uses UpRISE’s recent work as an example of successful youth engagement when taking a social justice approach toward tobacco control to create a movement.

To learn more about the work of UpRISE Colorado, visit their website.