Kick Butts Day Regional Representative Erika Olson said the objective of the campaign is to spread awareness about the dangers of tobacco, discourage smoking and encourage the cessation of marketing deadly tobacco products.
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No Limits, Nebraska’s youth-led tobacco prevention movement, is organizing the rally set for 10:30 a.m. on the west steps of the State Capitol.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Kids in Iowa, including those at Van Buren High School in Keosauqua, will stand up to Big Tobacco Wednesday as they join thousands of young people nationwide for Kick Butts Day.
Larimore compared the marketing tactics tobacco companies use to promote e-cigarettes to those aimed at attracting youth smokers. “You can’t walk into a convenience store today without seeing tobacco industry ads, marketing their product”.
Hundreds of butts have been picked up around the city and will be on display at schools.
According to the campaign, tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing 480,000 people and costing the nation $170 billion in health care bills each year. Students are also invited to write themselves a check for the money they will save by kicking their smoking habit for a whole year.
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“The national youth smoking rate is 15.7% and unfortunately, the high school smoking rate in Iowa is 18.1%”, Torrez says. Students in grades nine through 12 will be encouraged to take the #NotaReplacement challenge, pledging their commitment to stay tobacco-free.
