On May 20, KYCC Prevention Education’s Los Angeles First Tobacco Coalition (LAYFTC) hosted its 2021 Youth Summit: Youth Take A Stand Against Tobacco. As the coalition’s first ever Youth Summit, the goal of the event was to educate and increase awareness amongst vulnerable communities, and address important topics related to the tobacco industry and the harms of tobacco.

To plan the first virtual Youth Summit, LAYFTC collaborated with partners including MacArthur Park Youth Protecting And Revitalizing Community (MYPARC), Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL), USC, Advocates Invested in Restoring the Environment (AiRE), and Falcon Fresh Air Peer Advocate (FFAPA). 

Facilitated and led by youth, the event featured youth panelists presenting on their experiences advocating for tobacco prevention and the effects that tobacco has on their communities. The event also featured presentations on tobacco-related topics including secondhand smoke, the youth e-cigarette epidemic, tobacco control policy, and featured artwork created by youth advocates. 

Youth participants shared that “it was fun and exciting to hear the perspectives and feelings of youth panelists” and they “loved how engaging everyone was and the answers were very insightful”.

Through the Youth Summit, LAYFTC hoped to educate participants on tobacco-related issues and empower youth to take a stand against tobacco. To learn more about the work of LAYFTC, click here. 

This event was funded by Comprehensive Tobacco Control Services / California Tobacco Control Program.