Each year 45,000 African Americans die from tobacco-induced diseases.  “The only way for the tobacco industry cartel to continue to rake in their billions in profits is to recruit and addict new replacement smokers.  Those replacement smokers are our children, said AATCLC Co-Chair Carol McGruder; we must disrupt their pipeline of death and disease that runs through our communities.” The focus of the AATCLC is to inform and influence the direction of commercial tobacco control as it affects the lives of African American and African immigrant communities. The AATCLC works at the intersection of social injustice, health equity, and public health policy. 

Joining forces with The Poet Life, an organization of professional poets, keynote speakers, event coordinators, and facilitators working to create unique and innovative experiences, the AATCLC has launched this campaign that is utilizing poetry and spoken word to touch hearts and minds as they inform and educate communities across the country.

The “You Don’t Want That Smoke” blog series which will be viewed by people all across  the globe. Join this blog series and help make the world tobacco-free one poem at a time! The webpage SavingBlackLives.org/poetry will give poets and viewers direct access to this blog. The AATCLC and The Poet life believe the world is rediscovering the power of poetry, and together they will engage, educate, and connect communities across the country until the day that no more African Americans lose their lives to tobacco-induced diseases.