Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Honors Adileen Sii of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., As Central Region Youth Advocate of the Year

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May 11, 2017, 16:04 ET

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Adileen Sii, 18, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., has been named the Central Region Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for her leadership in the fight against tobacco. Adileen was honored Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Adileen has advocated for inclusion of e-cigarettes in Wisconsin's smoke-free law and testified before the Wisconsin Legislature to support funding for the state's tobacco prevention program. She also met with members of Congress to support U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation of all tobacco products. A senior at Lincoln High School, Adileen will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall.

"We are thrilled to honor Adileen as our Central Region Youth Advocate of the Year," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Young leaders like Adileen are standing up to the tobacco industry, inspiring their peers to be tobacco-free and encouraging elected officials to take action. They are helping create the first tobacco-free generation."

Over 400 public health, business, civic and political leaders attended the Youth Advocates of the Year awards ceremony to recognize Adileen and other youth advocates from across the country. The winners received scholarships to continue their tobacco prevention efforts and will serve as youth ambassadors for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, killing over 480,000 Americans and costing the nation $170 billion in health care bills each year. Tobacco kills 6 million people worldwide each year.

In Wisconsin, tobacco use claims 7,900 lives and costs over $2.6 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 8.1 percent of Wisconsin's high school students smoke and 13.3 percent use e-cigarettes.

Additional information about the youth award winners and tobacco's toll can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids