Volunteer Information

1. Pick a subject. It’s most effective to write a letter about an issue that’s been in the news lately; if your local paper publishes an article about tobacco, health, asthma, or another related issue, your best bet is simply to respond to that article. If you write about an issue that’s timely, you’ll often get published. Whatever you do, make sure you stick to a single subject. Just deal with one issue per letter.
2. Write Your Letter. Remember to keep your letter brief and to the point. We’ve provided a few samples below, but there are a few guidelines you can follow to make sure your letter is effective:
   1. Keep it brief. Try to keep your letter to about 2-3 paragraphs or 100-200 words.
   2. Stick to your point. Again, having selected a subject, make sure you stick to it, and make your point clearly.
   3. Write from a personal perspective. Why do you care about this issue? If you can relate this issue to your own experience, it will make the letter more compelling. For instance, “I hate breathing cigarette smoke when I go out to dinner.”
   4. Mention the news ‘hook.’ If the issue has been in your local newspaper, it’s good to mention the article and date that it appeared. If you are writing about something that hasn’t yet been in the news, it’s great if you can link it to some timely event, like a vote in your state legislature, Kick Butts Day, the beginning of the school year, etc.
   5. Propose a solution. Make sure you say what needs to be done to address the problem you are raising. For instance, if the problem is breathing secondhand smoke, the solution could be a city-wide ban on smoking in restaurants!
   6. Sign your full name and address. The newspaper will want to be sure you live in their coverage area.
   7. Include your phone number. Many papers will want to call and confirm that you really did submit the letter, so it’s absolutely critical that you include your phone number.
3. Submit Your Letter. Once you’ve written your letter, you just need to send it in! The best way to do so is to look up the submission guidelines in the newspaper. Usually there is a “letters to the editor” department where you can submit letters. You can mail, fax, or email your letter. If you’re having trouble finding your local paper’s contact information, you can look up newspapers in your area at this Web site: http://congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
4. Send a Copy to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. We’d really like to see your letter, too! Even if it doesn’t get printed, letters like yours can help raise the profile of an issue within a local community, and it’s helpful for us to know about this activity. Send you Letter to the Editor to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids at TobaccoFreeKids@tobaccofreekids.org
5. If Your Letter is Printed. If your letter gets printed, please make sure to let us know!! We’ll cut out a copy of your letter and send it to your member of Congress, to make sure they know that people in their community are concerned.

Below are a few examples of letters that were submitted by Tobacco-Free Kids E-Champions and printed in the newspaper.

"Tobacco-stained politicians"
Published October 31, 2002, in the Sacramento Bee

Re "Tobacco firms won big in Capitol, Common Cause says," Oct. 17: Reading this article made me even more disgusted with most -- not all -- of our elected officials.

I don't know how any of our so-called representatives who receive tobacco industry money can sleep at night.

Assembly Republican Leader Dave Cox said that raising political money from tobacco companies should not be viewed negatively. I vehemently disagree.

The tobacco industry has for years lied about the addictiveness of its products and the fact that smoking causes cancer and other serious diseases. It has been targeting our children, knowing full well how deadly its products are.

I will never vote for any candidate who takes contributions from this industry of death.

- Laurie Comstock, Elk Grove

"Put kids before profits"
Published October, 2002, in the Racine County Journal Times

As election day approaches, our future elected officials are staking out their stand on issues that will be important to us all. One issue that I'm concerned about is protecting kids from big tobacco.

The tobacco industry is spending a record $26 million DAILY to market their deadly products. It's no wonder more than 2,000 kids become addicted every day. One in three will die prematurely as a result.

In spite of this, tobacco companies remain virtually unregulated. Why? Because big tobacco means big money. It also means hundreds of thousands of addicted children and early deaths. Tobacco interests have given more than $22 million dollars in political donations since 1997. No wonder Big Tobacco has so much influence with our elected officials.

We know what works to protect kids from tobacco. States that have adequately funded prevention programs or raised the cigarette tax have dramatically reduced smoking, especially among kids. In the states that have funded comprehensive prevention programs, the teen smoking rate has dropped by as much as 30%! Now we need the political will to enact these policies.

I hope that many other people join me to let our leaders know that we put kids before profits!

Susan Conley
1414 Rosalind Ave., Racine

1. Decide who you are calling. If you’re not sure who your members of Congress or representatives in the state legislature are, you can go to this site and type in your zip code to get a list of your elected officials. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
2. Be prepared. Before you call your elected official, make sure you’ve taken the time to prepare for the call. Have you thought through what you’re going to say? Do you need more information on the issue? You don’t need to be an expert on the issue—you just need to let the members of Congress who represent you know what someone in their district thinks. See an example below. You can find the latest information about many tobacco control issues on the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids web site at www.TobaccoFreeKids.org.
3. Place the call. For U.S. Senators and Representatives, you can call the Congressional Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121 and they will patch you through to the appropriate office. If you’d prefer to call the office directly, you can use the same web site mentioned in Step #1 to find their direct phone number.
4. Ask for the staff person who works on tobacco issues. If possible, you should try and talk to the person in the office who works on the issue you are calling about. If not, you’ll end up just leaving a message with the receptionist or on a voice-mail, which is OK. Unless you personally know your member of congress, it’s unlikely you’ll get to talk to them directly.
5. Explain Your Position. Remember, you may want to jot down some brief notes before calling. Some things you should be sure to do on the care are:
   1. Inform the staff member that you are a constituent and provide your name and phone number;
   2. State the bill number, name, or the policy issue that you’re calling about;
   3. Briefly explain why the issue matters to you;
   4. State what you’re asking the Senator or Representative to do.
   5. Ask for your elected official’s position on the issue. Ask them to send you a response in writing.
   6. Thank the staff person for spending the time talking to you about this important issue.
6. Report on the results. Please drop us an email and let us know about any conversations you have with your public officials. Just send an email to jlucas@tobaccofreekids.org.

You can make your first phone call today. Right now, the U.S. Senate is considering whether or not to take action to protect kids and save lives by giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco. Here’s a sample script you could use to make your call:

Hi, my name is _____. I am a constituent of Senator ____. I was hoping to speak with the staff person responsible for tobacco issues, including FDA regulation of tobacco. (Wait for staff person, or if necessary continue with receptionist.)

I’m calling about FDA authority over tobacco products. I’m very concerned about the fact that a single cigarette exposes its user and those nearby to over 4,000 chemicals, including arsenic and ammonia. And every day 2,000 more American kids start smoking! We need the Food and Drug Administration to be given authority to reduce the number toxic chemicals in cigarettes, and to stop them from being marketed to our kids.

I’d like to ask the Senator to act immediately to pass bipartisan legislation to give the FDA effective authority to regulate tobacco products as it does other products. What is the Senator’s position on this issue? Can I ask for a response in writing?

I live at _____, in ____, ___. My phone number is _____.

I appreciate the time you’ve spent talking with me about this issue. Thank you for your time.