Students battling tobacco usage (4/12/05)

More than 400,000 people in the United States will die this year from a smoking-related disease.

On April 13, 2005, “Kick Butts Day,” 12 kids from the Voice at Jay County High School are taking a stand to stop youth from getting hooked on deadly tobacco products.

We know that 90 percent of smokers start using tobacco regularly at or before 18 years of age. To give kids a fighting chance, we made graffiti walls for students to sign anti-tobacco slogans, or memories of family members who have died from a smoking-related disease along with the name and date of death.

These graffiti walls will be sent to the tobacco companies, along with ads stamped with names and dates of people who have died from smoking.

We hope Indiana legislators will take a stand with us and earmark funds from the settlement between the state attorneys general and the tobacco companies for tobacco prevention programs that have been proven to work.

Indiana must act now to counteract the powerful advertising and promotional programs of the tobacco companies through school and community-based education programs.

Consider these facts: Each day, more than 2,000 kids become new regular, daily smokers; and roughly one-third of them will ultimately die prematurely from a tobacco-related disease.

Kids are not just part of the problem; we’re part of the solution. And the students from Jay County High School 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.

Sincerely,

Jay County High School Voice — Amanda Barnett, president; Christen Freyburgher, vice president; and sponsors Joy Littler and Lisa Wood, R.N.[[In-content Ad]]