Dear editor,
More than 480,000 people in the United States will die this year from a tobacco-related disease. Each day, more than 1,000 kids become new, regular smokers; roughly one-third of them will die prematurely from a tobacco-related disease.
On March 15, 2017, Kick Butts Day, thousands of young people and adults across the country will take part in a national day of activism to empower student leaders in an effort to stop youth tobacco use and to give kids a fighting chance against nicotine addiction. We know that 90 percent of smokers start using tobacco regularly by the time they are 18.
Our youth have the power to help raise awareness about the problem, encourage peers to be tobacco-free, and support effective solutions to reduce tobacco use. Participants help raise awareness through events such as creating anti-tobacco posters to be hung in the community, hosting educational events, or cleaning up and displaying cigarette butt litter from community areas.
Teachers, youth leaders and health advocates, you can help by organizing events to motivate youth to reject Big Tobacco’s deceptive marketing, stay tobacco-free, and urge elected officials to take action to protect kids from tobacco.
While Kick Butts Day is officially held one day each year, our hope is that every day will be Kick Butts Day in the fight against tobacco. By making every day Kick Butts Day, we can win the fight against tobacco use, the number one preventable cause of death.
For more information about Kick Butts Day, visit KickButtsDay.org, or contact Rutland Area Prevention Coalition at 802-775-4199 or email us at rap@rmhsccn.org.
Tina Vanguilder is the program director and a certified prevention specialist with the Rutland Area Prevention Coalition.
