Youth Quest 2024

Address the Root, Break the Loop

*Youth advocates rally on the west steps of the California State Capitol.*

Every year, the CYAN Youth Board organizes Youth Quest, an event that brings together youth advocates from across the state to meet with local legislators and march to the Capitol building to raise awareness of the effects of big tobacco corporations to the public and policymakers.

The theme for Youth Quest ‘24 was “Address the Root. Break the Loop” — the pursuit for a solution to the bigger issue at hand. We wanted to place our focus not only on the permeating addiction across young communities but also at a larger scale, the manipulative tactics used by the tobacco industry to target youth.

The Youth Board wishes to initiate the conversation about the root of the problem - the tobacco industry. They target and exploit vulnerable populations, use strategic advertisements, and push out harmful, addictive products that keep our communities in a vicious cycle of dependency.

This year, the Youth Board united youth advocates statewide to break this loop of addiction and lead efforts against Big Tobacco.