YOUTH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Community Programs

Tobacco Use Reduction Force (TURF)

The low-income neighborhoods of San Francisco, with relatively high densities of youth and people of color, have a disproportionately high concentration of tobacco retailers. This exposure fosters higher smoking rates. TURF members, who are gaining skills as researchers and community advocates, have put forward a proposal to protect public health by limiting the density of retail establishments permitted to sell tobacco. TURF continues to advocate to develop legislation—the first of its kind in the U.S.—that will effectively address the over concentration of tobacco retailers in disadvantaged and marginalized communities of San Francisco.