More than 400,000 people in the United
States will die this year from a tobacco-related disease. On March 21, Kick Butts Day—the Van Buren
County Youth Leadership Council is taking a stand to stop youth from getting
hooked on deadly tobacco products.
We know that 90% of smokers start using
tobacco regularly by the time they are 18. Isn’t this astonishing?
So in order to give kids a fighting
chance, we plan to join thousands of students across the country who are taking
part in Kick Butts Day, a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids that makes students leaders in the effort to stop youth tobacco
use. As part of the Kick Butts Day celebration, YLC Members will display
posters in the Van Buren Community Jr/Sr High School and do Peer Teaching at
the Harmony and Van Buren Community Elementary Schools on the dangers of
tobacco use.
There are many effective ways state and
local officials can protect young people from tobacco.
They can use funds from the states’ 1998
legal settlement with the tobacco companies to pay for tobacco prevention
programs; they can increase tobacco taxes; and they can pass smoke free laws to
protect us from secondhand smoke. Consider these facts: Each day, more than 1,000
kids become new regular smokers; roughly one-third of them will die prematurely
from a tobacco-related disease.
Today’s youth are not just part of the
problem; they’re part of the solution. And the students from Van Buren County want
tobacco companies to know that on Kick Butts Day and every day throughout the year,
we’re going to fight them every step of the way!
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