Our Smoke-Free Sacramento project is working to educate the community on the issues surrounding commercial tobacco products and the impacts they have on our local environment. Our focus now is to keep our communities smoke-free, which includes parks, worksites, multi-unit housing, and empowering youth to join the fight against Big Tobacco.

We’re very familiar, especially here at Breathe California Sacramento Region, with the dangers of smoking cigarettes. We know that cigarettes can cause disability, disease, and death, so much so, that 110 Californian’s die every day at the hands of the tobacco industry.

At Rio Americano High School (Rio) my partner, Genevieve F. and I, have had the pleasure of working with Breathe California Sacramento Region (BREATHE) to implement a food scraps recycling program.

As we move from summer to fall, we are excited about the positive impacts on the environment with the return of our Food Scraps & Recycling Program in Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD). TRUSD is reintroducing their Farmer’s Market at K-8th elementary schools in the district to sample local, healthy produce to students.

In the world of social media and celebrity culture, fans often follow their favorite stars as they navigate personal challenges, life changes, accomplishments, and struggles. One star who is known for sharing their life with fans online is Grammy winning rapper Doja Cat, who has gained popularity after two of her songs became viral TikTok sounds in 2020.

The health of the environment is directly threatened by air pollution. Safeguarding our environment and air quality becomes the key to preserving lung health, for thriving wildlife habitats and ensuring a brighter future for all.

Since 1917, Breathe California Sacramento Region has been advocating for clean air and healthy lungs through education, community involvement and creative solutions to impact policy. Thanks to our volunteers and continued financial support from the community, Breathe is one of the oldest and most active nonprofits in the Sacramento area. 

The Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing and Engagement hosted its first in-person Capitol Information & Education Days (I&E Days) in the post COVID-19 era on May 8-9th.

Open to all CTCP-funded projects and the community at large, Breathe CA Sacramento Region showed up to help our policy makers understand the importance of tobacco control and tobacco’s impact on our communities.

Are you between 14-24 and enjoy watching movies? Know someone who does? Then keep reading! Our Smoke-Free Screens program is recruiting new volunteers to review movies for tobacco content.

Truth Initiative’s fifth annual “While You Were Streaming” report analyzes tobacco imagery in popular entertainment and provides shocking statistics exposing how tobacco takes the spotlight across a myriad of platforms. We at Breathe California play a special role in this study as our youth provide the raw data for this report.

And the Oscar goes to…Tobacco. Unfortunately, tobacco imagery continues to dominate the films nominated for the Academy Awards. Under the direction of our partner Truth Initiative, Breathe’s Smoke-free Screens youth coded 39 Oscar-nominated films.

We are proud to say that our Food Scraps programs have helped students to learn how to properly dispose of their food scraps, helped to divert food waste from piling up in landfills, and reduced carbon emissions. Teachers are also proud of their students, especially one of Babcock Elementary’s 3rd grade teachers, Brittoni Ward.

A great time was had by all at the 2023 Breathe Youth Fest and 9th Annual PSA Contest held on January 27, 2023. Huge thanks to the Sacramento Association of Realtors for their generous donation of their fantastic new event space, the Mack Powell Event Center.

In early 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 793 into law to remove the sale of flavored tobacco products in California. The law includes provisions to remove the sale of all flavored electronic cigarettes, cigarettes (including mint and menthol flavors), and more – although it exempts a few products including hookah and premium cigars.

Most of us know by now that it is not safe to breathe wildfire smoke, or any form of air pollution, especially for those who are more vulnerable like children, those who are pregnant, the elderly, and those with certain lung or heart diseases, or diabetes (American Lung Association and CDC.gov).

October in California presents us with an interesting opportunity to re-visit our individual and collective efforts to make a difference in the air we all breathe. For decades, BREATHE has advocated for small changes to help us achieve our goal of improved air quality for healthy lungs.

Hopefully, this finds you looking forward to the Breathe Bike Trek and all those exhilarating miles you’ll be riding in scenic Placer County. Please remember the importance of GOOD HYDRATION while you’re out there, especially in warm weather!

The National Conference on Tobacco or Health (NCTOH) is one of the largest, long-standing gatherings for top United States tobacco control professionals. The conference attracts a diverse group of public health professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in examining the latest evidence on best practices in tobacco control and how to apply current research findings to tobacco control policy, advocacy, and programs.

Did you know that in the United States, we waste about 108 billion pounds of food every year? That means that about 30-40 percent of the U.S. food supply ends up in the trash can where it is then sent to the landfill. While more food scraps are being collected for compost due to new California state mandates, food waste still accounts for the single largest material found in landfills, making up about 18% of municipal solid waste.

On Saturday, April 30, I joined 300 regional delegates, as we embarked on the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 50th annual Capital to Capital (C2C) advocacy trip to Washington DC. Our delegation included, elected officials, business leaders, nonprofit and community organizations, and advocates, that united around advocacy for the Sacramento Region.