🚭 A Letter to the Young Person Picking Up a Cigarette or Vape 🚭
If you’re old enough to smoke or vape, it’s time to know the truth: tobacco isn’t just a habit—it’s a history of exploitation, pain, and death. ⚠️
🔥 The Truth About Tobacco 🔥
Tobacco was sacred to Indigenous peoples, including the Powhatan nation, used in ceremony and prayer 🙏. But colonial greed corrupted it. Pocahontas, only 12 years old, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and used as a pawn to expand the tobacco trade. From the start, this industry profited from suffering. 💔
Over centuries, companies marketed to kids and teens, hid dangers, and made billions 💰 while millions became addicted 😔. Even non-smokers—workers in bars, offices, homes—died from secondhand smoke 🏥. Families and communities lost too much. 💔
💭 My Story 💭
I smoked for 14 years 🚬. Spent thousands 💵. Today, a pack costs almost 19 times what it did when I started 😳. And yet, the system is still rigged. Big corporations profit from addiction, and other industries push products that can keep you dependent 😡.
⚡ Why It Matters ⚡
Addiction can happen to anyone ❗. Knowing the history and manipulation behind tobacco gives you power 💪. Ignoring it doesn’t protect you—it only continues the cycle 🔄.
I tried to protect my own child. I failed 😢. But you have a chance to make a different choice ✅. Be aware. Be careful. Your choices today affect your life and the people around you 👨👩👧👦.
We all deserve a chance to make better choices 🌟. You deserve to know. 💯
