DoSomething.org and Truth call on pharmacy to ban tobacco sales

NEW YORK -- DoSomething.org and the tobacco prevention campaign Truth on Thursday teamed up for its "Take Back the Shelves" initiative, a campaign that asks young people to creatively use social media to demand that pharmacies remove tobacco from shelves.



Beginning Dec. 1 and through the end of the month, millennials are encouraged to sign up for the campaign at DoSomething.org/shelves where they will be asked to download a template and create artwork with items they want to see behind pharmacy checkout counters instead of tobacco products. Young people will then share their drawings on social media with #TakeBacktheShelves tagging a pharmacy to ask them to remove tobacco products from their shelves.



"Tobacco and pharmacies just don't mix," said Aria Finger, CEO at DoSomething.org. "In 2014, CVS Health stopped selling tobacco products and we hope that other pharmacies will follow their lead and listen to young people. We are working with Truth in asking pharmacies to remove tobacco products altogether because we believe this can be the generation to end smoking for good."



Kira Kosarin, the 19-year-old star of Nickelodeon's "The Thundermans" recorded the public service announcement above to encourage fans to join the effort and show pharmacies what they want to see on the shelves instead of tobacco products.



"Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and that's why I'm proud to join the movement to end smoking. I want to do anything I can to inform and keep my generation from starting to smoke in the first place," Kosarin said.



"At Truth, we never shy away from speaking out about the tactics used and products sold by Big Tobacco – this campaign with DoSomething.org is no different," said Eric Asche, chief marketing officer, Truth Initiative, the organization that runs truth. "The power to create social change is in the hands of today's young people. We know that creativity and social influence are tools that we can use to encourage pharmacies to remove tobacco products; a decision that is truly in the best interest of the consumer. We invite all pharmacies to join the Finish It movement to end smoking and the deadly impact it has on society."



While the teen cigarette smoking rate is 7% - an all-time low - Truth and DoSomething.org are building on this momentum and rallying a new generation to finish smoking for good.  By encouraging young people to use their creativity, they are building the generation to '#FinishIT.'