Tobacco pollution lays waste to equity and justice.

While California has achieved one of the lowest tobacco use rates in the nation, we still remain Big Tobacco’s largest market in the US. Roughly 12 billion cigarettes out of the six trillion made annually worldwide are sold in California. So, what happens to these products after they’ve been sold?

Unsurprisingly, Big Tobacco claims no responsibility for the tobacco pollution its products generate. They desperately want us to believe that cigarette butts and vapes found on the ground are simply a litter problem caused by the people who use their products, and the solution is as simple as ashcans and beach cleanups.

Because Big Tobacco intentionally and aggressively targets lowincome communities and communities of color, a higher number of stores in these areas sell tobacco than in other places. And the more stores that sell tobacco, the higher the level of tobacco pollution-exposure for residents. Tobacco waste particularly builds up around where these products are sold and used.

As more research reveals how Big Tobacco pollutes our environment with its toxic products, it becomes a more urgent and serious community threat. All Californians are harmed by tobacco pollution — whether they use tobacco or not — much like toxic secondhand smoke exposure. And many of those most impacted can’t control the environment they live in, like children, who are especially vulnerable to exposure. Tobacco pollution is associated with elevated levels of lead in children’s blood. It may also load certain neighborhoods with unacceptably high levels of nicotine, benzene, and heavy metals. And these devastating impacts can last for decades after tobacco products have been sold.

Research also shows that tobacco pollution builds up around high schools at different levels depending on the socio-economic makeup of the students at the school. There are a higher number of vape shops closer to schools in communities with more Asian and African American/Black students. Vapes have all the same environmental problems as cigarette butts — plastic pollution and toxic chemicals leaking into the environment — plus, because they’re electronic devices, they leave behind electronic waste, which is notoriously difficult and costly to dispose of.

Communities of color and low-income communities bear an unreasonable burden of health impacts from pollution of all kinds — from substandard housing containing lead and asbestos to industrial pollution and air pollution. Tobacco waste adds to already unacceptable levels of pollution. Bottom line: No one, and no place, is safe from Big Tobacco.

Celebrating Menthol

continued from page 1 than 5,000 (5, 025) people and provided glasses to 750 of those individuals at no cost, according to Compton District 4 Councilwoman Lillie P. Darden’s office. Taking $75,000 out of her own pocket, Hamilton brough Angels for Sight to life with a state-of-the-art facility.

Hamilton’s impact through Angels for Sight has been felt in a big way throughout Compton. Hamilton’s passing is just as momentous. A heart-felt memoriam written by Barbara Cocks celebrates and highlight the work and legacy that Hamilton left behind.

After a prolonged struggle with health issues that plagued her for over two decades, on April 19, 2023, Shea left all of the Angels she recruited to her cause knowing that they would continue the work she was so passionate about.

A woman of incredible substance and unwavering determination, Shea provided thousands of kids, families, seniors and veterans with the gift of better vision through Angels for Sight. Hamilton founded Angels for Sight (angelsforsight.vision) because she knew that by providing vision care and eyewear for children that she was ensuring that they would thrive and be able to lead us into tomorrow.

She also sincerely felt that for a community to be healthy and whole, it must be inclusive sharing love and concern for all its members especially seniors and veterans.

Shea moved “heaven and earth” and a lot of governmental agencies, politicians, corporate leaders, and everyday people to bring her “vision” to fruition.

From doing vision screenings and dispensing non-prescription reading glasses on Skid Row to hosting annual vision events for Veterans and enlisting a long list of vision professionals to staff countless vision linics for kids and gifting them glasses (with cool designer frames of course), Shea was tireless and unre- lenting in her pursuit to help others. continued from page 2 the tobacco industry has continued to introduce new non-menthol products that still pose significant health risks.

When we open the new Angels for Sight Clinic in Long Beach later this year, everything will need to be perfect, not for the distinguished guests and donors, but for all the people in the community who she had pledged to serve. It will be the ultimate celebration of a life well lived and a woman who will be missed, but never forgotten.

Hamilton touched so many people during her lifetime, leaving an indelible imprint on their hearts. Her Angels for Sight family would like to extend an invitation to everyone who loved her to join all of us as we celebrate and share memories of our dear friend and mentor.

We encourage all of those who attend to wear something BLUE which symbolizes all the things that were dear to Shea— faith, imagination, inspiration, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, and intelligence.

No Menthol Sunday serves as a reminder to prioritize Black health and well-being. By raising awareness of the dangers of all tobacco products, including the new non-menthol flavors, African Americans can make informed decisions about health and advocate for comprehensive regulations and policies that prioritize public health and prevent the tobacco industry from targeting marginalized groups even further. Find out how to get involved at savingblacklives.org/nomentholsunday.

For more information and resources that help Californians kick smoking, vaping, and smokeless tobacco with the help of proven, science-based strategies, visit KickItCA. org or download the app.

Statepoint Crossword

THEME: AT THE AIRPORT

8. Hajj destination

9. Like kittens’ mittens

10. “The Sun ____ Rises” by Hemingway

11. Thailand, once

12. Tofu bean, pl.

15. Walkways

20. “Peer Gynt” composer Edvard 22. Dot-com address

Wrestling match, e.g.

*Air traffic control feature

Fully informed

Army doctor 29. Traffic sign

____ of measurement 32. Rock bottom

Search blindly

Island off Manhattan

Vegas cube

H or O in H2O, e.g.

Opposite of cathode

Obliquely

Knightly title

Slash’s instrument

Make believe

Cause for food recall

Attention-getting sound

Gym class test? 59. *Captain’s announcement, plural acronym

Porter order 61. June 6, 1944

62. Type of #14 Across 63. Grannies, in UK 64. Clarified butter 67. *PreCheck org.