Maine Kids 'Kick Butts' on March 24

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Mar 18, 2010, 02:33 ET

Maine Leaders Urged to Increase Cigarette Tax by $1

WASHINGTON, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kids in Maine will take center stage in the fight against tobacco on March 24 as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 15th annual Kick Butts Day. More than 1,000 events are planned in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (for a list of local events see below).

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Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Butts Day is an annual celebration of youth leadership and activism in the fight against tobacco use. Kids are sending two powerful messages on Kick Butts Day: They want the tobacco companies to stop targeting them with marketing for cigarettes and other tobacco products, and they want elected leaders to do more to protect them from tobacco.

In Maine, health advocates are calling on state leaders to increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack in order to prevent kids from smoking and raise much-needed revenue to address the state's budget shortfall and fund critical programs such as health care and education. According to a recent report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a $1 cigarette tax increase in Maine would have the following benefits:

Prevent 8,500 kids from becoming smokers;
Spur 4,600 current adult smokers to quit;
Save 3,900 residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths; and
Save $192.5 million in health care costs.

"On Kick Butts Day, kids are standing up to the tobacco companies, and Maine leaders should stand with them by increasing the cigarette tax," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "A higher cigarette tax is truly a win-win-win for Maine: a health win that will prevent kids from smoking and save lives; a budget win that will help protect vital programs like health care and education; and a political win that is popular with the voters."

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. While the nation has made significant progress in reducing youth smoking, 20 percent of high school students still smoke.

In Maine, tobacco use claims 2,200 lives and costs $602 million in health care bills each year. Currently, 14 percent of the state's high school students smoke, and 5,900 kids try cigarettes for the first time each year.

On Kick Butts Day, kids turn the tables on Big Tobacco with events that range from "They put WHAT in a cigarette?" demonstrations to mock-funerals for the Marlboro Man to rallies at state capitols. Activities in Maine include (all events are on March 24 unless otherwise noted):

In Biddeford, youth will hang tobacco facts and information at the J.R. Martin Community Center. Time: 3 PM. Location: 550 Main Street, Biddeford. Contact: Cheryle Lessard (207) 282-4345.

At the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Healthy Aroostook will hold the Aroostook Partnership Extravaganza Youth Summit for the more than 400 Aroostook County sixth through eighth grade students. The keynote address will be delivered by a BMX bike stunt team. Time: 9 AM. Location: 181 Main Street, Presque Isle. Contact: Erica Shaw McCrum (207) 227-7678.

Thirteen middle and high schools in Rockland will advertise the number of Maine youth who die prematurely as a result of tobacco use. The number will appear throughout the school campus. Time: 2 PM. Location: Rockland District High School, 400 Broadway Street, Rockland. Contact: Hilary Flagg (207) 594-2221, x409.

At the Waldo County YMCA in Belfast, fifth grade students will participate in the program, "Tobacco Education- Passport to Health," to empower youth to say no to tobacco. Time: 9:30 AM. Location: 157 Lincolnville Avenue, Belfast. Contact: Brandon Hurd (207) 338-4598 or Linda Hartkopf (207) 338-1960.

Note to the media: For a list of Kick Butts Day events in Maine, visit www.kickbuttsday.org/events. Additional information about tobacco, including state-by-state statistics, can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids