Paid for and created in partnership with Truth Initiative. NPQ’s editorial staff had no role in the creation of this content.
For more than two decades, Truth Initiative has partnered across public health, philanthropy, education, and the private sector to prevent youth nicotine addiction and empower quitting for all.
Despite tremendous progress over that time, tobacco and nicotine use remains a critical public health challenge that requires continued evidence-based solutions—and strategic partners to ensure they are implemented at the local, state, and national level.
“What we’ve learned is that lasting progress depends on collective action,” said Kathy Crosby, CEO and president of Truth Initiative, the nation’s largest nonprofit working to break the cycle of nicotine addiction. “Partnerships are critical to turning research into action and ensuring proven prevention and cessation solutions reach the people and communities that need them most.”
Addiction landscape continues to evolve
The public in general, and young people in particular, are navigating an addiction landscape that’s much different than the past. Not only do more than 25 million Americans still smoke, newer products like e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are also reshaping how addiction takes hold.
Tobacco and nicotine products can pose numerous health risks, especially to those who don’t already use tobacco products, including young people.
Tobacco use, primarily smoking, remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., killing more than 490,000 Americans every year and costing the US more than $300 billion annually from direct medical care and lost productivity.
Additionally, addiction risks also rarely occur in isolation. Behaviors like nicotine vaping, cannabis use, gaming, and gambling often overlap and reinforce one another, shaping how prevention and cessation strategies may need to be applied.
Research drives real-world impact
Truth Initiative’s work is grounded in ongoing research conducted through its Schroeder Institute that helps identify who is most at risk, what motivates use, and which approaches are most effective in shifting behavior. That research informs programs that have reached millions of people nationwide.
Truth Initiative’s award-winning truth® public education campaign helped drive youth smoking from 23% in 2000 to under 2% today, while contributing to a decade low in youth e-cigarette use. Its Vaping: Know the truth curriculum that addresses both nicotine and cannabis has reached more than 1.5 million middle and high school students, often through partnerships with school districts and youth-serving organizations.
The same evidence underpins Truth Initiative’s EX Program, developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic to support people trying to quit nicotine. It combines personalized quit plans, text-based support, and a large online community, offering free and confidential access to tools designed to help people manage cravings in real time.
Over the past 18 years, EX Program has supported more than 2 million people in their efforts to quit, including 1 million young people ages 13 to 24. In clinical trials with adolescents and young adults, it increased the odds of quitting by up to 40%, and has also shown effectiveness in helping reduce cannabis use among those who vape nicotine.
Public education campaigns, school-based prevention efforts, and cessation programs are delivered in partnership with health systems, educators, and community organizations. As patterns of use evolve, so do the interventions, including recent efforts to address nicotine pouches and the intersection of nicotine use and mental health.
Truth Initiative also works to inform policy and institutional practices designed for population-level behavior change.
For example, its research has helped draw attention to the presence of illegal e-cigarettes in the marketplace, contributing to increased state-level enforcement. At the federal level, Truth Initiative regularly submits comments on regulatory actions, helping inform policy decisions.
The organization has also supported more than 250 colleges and universities in adopting 100% tobacco- and vape-free policies, reaching more than 2.7 million students, faculty, and staff.
Equity is a critical cornerstone
Nicotine addiction does not affect every community equally. Tobacco use remains disproportionately high among some racial and ethnic communities, people with lower incomes, LGBTQ+ populations, and certain geographic areas, as well as other groups like active-duty military and veterans.
Through its Culture + Cessation Collective, Truth Initiative works with organizations and national and community-based partners like the NAACP and GLAAD to expand access to cessation resources in Black, LGBTQ+, and Hispanic/Latino communities. The Culture + Cessation Collective currently includes 375 members representing more than 158 organizations across the country.
This work is rooted in cultural connection and community-driven support to provide safe spaces, meaningful conversations, and actionable resources to help communities disproportionately impacted by tobacco break free from nicotine addiction.
The goal is to understand what different communities need and build solutions with the people they are intended to serve. Partnerships with trusted community organizations help advance that goal, including Truth Initiative’s collaboration with the NAACP, which has the potential to reach a network of more than 2,200 NAACP units nationwide.
“Meaningful progress starts with listening to those disproportionately impacted by nicotine addiction and involving them in the solutions that can advance health equity,” said Dr. Chris Pernell, director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity. “Our partnership with Truth Initiative brings knowledge together with proven tools to help people quit and ensures communities have a voice in how that support reaches them.”
Sustained success requires collaboration
Partnerships at all levels have been critical to expanding these efforts into workplaces, schools, and communities. Collaborations with organizations and brands can also help extend reach and build trust with key audiences.
While helping millions of people in the process, Truth Initiative has even received an “A” rating from Howard W. Buffett’s Global Impact for how its programs achieve positive public health outcomes.
Breaking the cycle of nicotine addiction requires aligning research, programs, and policy — and ensuring they reach people at the scale the problem demands.
The upcoming new year offers a timely opportunity to put that collaboration into action. Each year, Truth Initiative and its partners rally around a period known as “Quit Season,” when resolutions and fresh starts inspire many to quit nicotine. As part of this effort, Truth Initiative reframes “Quitter’s Day,” the second Friday in January when resolutions often begin to fade, as “You Got This Day.” The moment, happening this year on January 8, encourages people who have experienced setbacks to recommit to quitting, reinforcing that a relapse does not mean failure. By connecting their communities with knowledge and proven quitting support, partners can help more people make meaningful steps toward a nicotine-free life.
Funders, community groups, corporate partners and other public health-minded organizations all have a role to play in expanding that impact and broadening access to prevention, cessation, and policy solutions. With sustained collaboration and investment, these approaches can reach more communities and help reduce the burden of nicotine addiction over time.
