DoSomething.org, a global movement of over 5.5 million young people and truth®, a national youth tobacco prevention campaigns, have teamed up with Coco Jones, the 19-year-old star of Disney’s Let it Shine, for a public service announcement to encourage fans to take the quiz and find out who has their eyes on them. The campaign features a new emoji compatibility quiz called “Who Has Their Eye on You?” to show teens how Big Tobacco is vying for their attention.
The quiz follows the launch of the latest campaign by truth, #STOPPROFILING, that underscores the fact that tobacco use is more than a public health issue, it’s a social justice issue. Tobacco is not an equal opportunity killer. It disproportionately affects people in low-income communities, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBT individuals and those with mental illness—all a result of profiling by the tobacco industry.
“I was shocked by my match and couldn’t believe how many ways Big Tobacco targets black, LGBT, low-income and other marginalized youth,” said Coco Jones, in a statement. “I want to do my part to ensure my fans know about these disgusting tactics, shout it out and be and be the generation that ends smoking for good.”
“Today’s teens are a generation with an unyielding commitment to diversity, inclusivity and equality,” added Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative, the national public health organization that directs and funds the truth campaign. “Tobacco is still the number one cause of preventable death. We want to arm everyone with the facts about tobacco industry profiling, urge them to call it out through the #STOPPROFILING campaign, and send a loud and clear message to the tobacco industry that it’s just not cool.”
To participate, young people can sign-up at DoSomething.org/quiz to find out their perfect match trhough July 15, 2017. The quiz “matches” users based on income, race and sexual orientation – the same data points Big Tobacco uses to target people in African-American, low-income and LGBTQ communities.
