Earth Day, April 22
Public health advocates across the state have an opportunity to raise awareness about the devastating consequences to our environment of commercial tobacco growing, manufacturing, and use.
Smoke/Tobacco-Free Earth Day Events
ABOUT THE EVENT
Each year, CYAN supports local and campus-based activities hosted on or around Earth Day to increase awareness of the devastating impact commercial tobacco has on the environment.
CYAN offers free support and resources to any college campus that would like to host an event and raise awareness on their campus. By registering with CYAN for Earth Day, campuses will receive: free tote bags to give to students on campus (if interested), Event Toolkit with event ideas and forms, educational materials, and social media resources.
This year’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet: The Earth is Not Disposable” which focuses on educating youth, young adults, and campus communities on the impact of disposable vaping devices and single-use plastic products (e.g., pods) on the environment.
REGISTRATION
Registration for this event is open through Friday, April 8th. CYAN provides free resources to California colleges, universities, and vocational schools as well as CTCP-funded organizations working with intitutions of higher education.
WEBINAR: THE EARTH IS NOT DISPOSALBE - APRIL 11 @ 3:00PM
Interested in learning more about how commercial tobacco impacts the environment and how you can engage young adults and campus communities around this issue? Join CYAN’s College Program team on this educational webinar highlighting the detrimental effects of commercial tobacco production and single plastic use associated with e-cigarettes. We will also discuss how to utilize CYAN's Earth Day educational resources including our toolkit and strategize ideas for hosting Earth Day events on your campus. Register for the webinar here.
LEARN MORE
Get educated on how commercial tobacco impacts the environment.
Read these Vape Waste and the Environment Key Messages
Read this fact sheet on The Burden of Tobacco on the Environment - Single-use Plastics and Disposable Vapes.
View the videos below to learn more about the various ways commercial tobacco harms the environment and the effects of nicotine vape waste on the environment.
SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Use your social media pages to share information about tobacco’s impact on the environment. Consider sharing the The Earth is Not Disposable: Nicotine Vape Waste video or use the Key Messages resource to create a new post.
You can also utilize the Earth Day 2022 Social Media posts and share them throughout April to increase awareness of commercial tobacco’s impact on the environment. Need help with posting messages? Contact info@cyanonline.org or follow @cyanonline on Instagram for more information.
ENCOURAGE QUIT ATTEMPTS
Support friends and families in quitting tobacco. Quit tips and resources for youth and young adults are available at cyanonline.org/quit-tobacco. All Californians can get help quitting at www.nobutts.org or www.novapes.org.
CLEAN UP YOUR COMMUNITY
Walk around your neighborhood and community (practicing proper social distancing) and clean up tobacco waste. Make sure to wear gloves and bring an air-tight container to hold the waste. Take note of the types of products you are picking up and where, for example, near a park or school. Share your findings with with coalition members, community leaders, and the media.
EDUCATE DECISION MAKERS
Reach out to local decision makers, state legislators, and campus administrators and educate them on how tobacco use impacts your local communities. Working on a smoke/tobacco-free policy? Utilize information about tobacco’s impact on the environment to further encourage smoke/tobacco-free policy adoption and to create a plan to reopen smoke/tobacco-free.
Resources for College and University Campuses
This Earth Day Toolkit provides a collection of ideas for hosting in-person and virtual events on campus. The Toolkit includes information on tobacco and vape waste on the environment: Earth Dav event ideas for education advocacy, and tobacco treatment; key messages on the negative impact of tobacco products on the environment: and other resources to support vour campus events.