To: Brian Cornell, CEO of Target
Tell Target: Stop Financing Big Tobacco’s Global War Against Public Health
Target should follow the lead of CVS in withdrawing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the corporate lobbying juggernaut that was recently exposed to be undermining anti-smoking measures around the world.
Why is this important?
Target was the first major retail chain to stop selling cigarettes (back in 1996). Last fall, CVS made headlines when it too discontinued the sale of tobacco products. But CVS just did Target one better by also withdrawing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
As revealed in a recent New York Times series, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is deliberately and systematically opposing public health efforts in numerous countries to reduce tobacco use.
Just in case there’s any confusion, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is neither part of the federal government (that’s the Department of Commerce) nor anything like your local Chamber of Commerce (which may well be composed of small business owners genuinely concerned about your community).
Rather, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s most aggressive corporate lobbyist, spending more each year than any other company or organization to push policies that benefit Big Business.
Does Target really want to be associated with what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is doing to shill for Big Tobacco and defend a product that kills 6 million people worldwide every year?
We call on you to follow the lead of CVS by withdrawing Target’s membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.