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What We Do

To achieve a future free from nicotine addiction, we focus on behavior change and policy change that prevents addiction, supports quitting, expands cessation access, and addresses systemic inequities.

The power of truth

For 25 years, truth® has been delivering the facts about smoking, vaping, and nicotine addiction to empower young people to make informed choices and influence their peers and communities to do the same.

Outsmart Nicotine: Breaking the Cycle

A new round of Outsmart Nicotine ads, released by Truth Initiative in April 2026, illuminates the cycle of nicotine addiction and withdrawal and situates the mental health impact of nicotine addiction as a reason to consider quitting. The new ads ask two essential questions: do people crave nicotine because they feel stressed? Or do they feel stressed because they crave nicotine?

Outsmart Nicotine offers a way to break the cycle with EX Program, a free evidence-based digital quitting program developed by Truth Initiative with Mayo Clinic.

Our mission

At Truth Initiative, we are committed to a future free from lifelong addiction, fostering healthier lives and a more resilient nation. Our mission is clear: prevent youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empower quitting for all.

Get Involved

Join us in preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empowering quitting for all. Learn about how you can help create a future free from nicotine addiction, and access free downloadable resources to use in your community. 

Our top issues

In our fight to prevent youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empower quitting, we focus on the issues that matter most. To identify these priorities, we constantly monitor, investigate and analyze the latest topics and trends in commercial tobacco and substance use. These are our top issues.

Featured partnerships

Through our partnerships, we are creating a culture that empowers people to leave nicotine behind and embrace a healthier future. We partner with states, local communities, public health organizations, and powerful brands to engage young people, prevent nicotine addiction, and help people quit.

Outsmart Nicotine: You Got This

Quitting is hard, but with the right support, anyone can break free from nicotine addiction – and they don’t have to go it alone. That’s the message behind Outsmart Nicotine, a national campaign from Truth Initiative that empowers young people to break the cycle of nicotine addiction for good with an enhanced EX Program.

Our Impact

At Truth Initiative, we create meaningful change at both the population and individual levels. With our research-driven approach to behavior change and policy change, we prevent addiction, increase quitting, reduce nicotine dependence, and expand cessation access. By addressing systemic challenges and empowering individuals, we achieve transformative public health impact.

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT NICOTINE ADDICTION PREVENTION & EDUCATION

Everyone deserves the chance to live free from nicotine addiction. Through our national public education campaigns and in-school prevention curriculums for middle and high school students, we are inspiring a movement to live free from nicotine addiction by empowering young people to quit or never start in the first place.

Samuel Rose

Samuel “Sam” Rose, a rising junior at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina, brings his personal journey as a former e-cigarette user to his role a

Alex Parks

Alexandra Parks is responsible for strategic leadership in developing and managing partnerships with an array of stakeholders, including nonprofit organ