Minnesota Kids to 'Kick Butts' on March 16

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kids in Minnesota will stand up to Big Tobacco on March 16 as they join thousands of young people nationwide for Kick Butts Day. More than 1,000 events are planned across the United States and around the world for this annual day of youth activism, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (See below for a list of local events.)

On Kick Butts Day, kids demand that tobacco companies stop marketing deadly products to them and encourage elected officials to help reduce youth tobacco use.                    

This year, Kick Butts Day is focusing attention on the outrageous marketing tactics tobacco companies still use to target youth. These tactics include:

• Splashy ads in magazines with large youth readership, such as Sports Illustrated, Glamour and Rolling Stone.
• Widespread advertising and price discounts in stores, which make tobacco products appealing and affordable to kids.
• Sweet-flavored tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and small cigars that come in flavors like gummy bear, cotton candy, watermelon and fruit punch. While youth cigarette smoking has fallen to record lows, the most recent government survey shows that e-cigarette use among high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014 (from 4.5 percent to 13.4 percent).

Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $9.6 billion a year – over one million dollars every hour – to market tobacco products. In Minnesota, tobacco companies spend $135.5 million annually on marketing efforts.

"On Kick Butts Day, kids stand up to the tobacco industry and all of us, especially our elected officials, should stand with them," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We've made amazing progress in reducing youth smoking and can make the next generation tobacco-free. Elected officials in every state should help reach that goal by supporting proven strategies to prevent youth tobacco use, including higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free laws, prevention programs and raising the tobacco age to 21."

In Minnesota, tobacco use claims 5,900 lives and costs $2.51 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 10.6 percent of Minnesota's high school students smoke.

On Kick Butts Day, kids join in creative events that range from classroom activities about the harmful ingredients in cigarettes to rallies at state capitols.

In Minnesota, activities include:

On March 14, the Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative will host a community gathering to educate children and families about the dangers of tobacco and how the tobacco industry targets and markets to teens and adults in Duluth. Families will participate in games and win prizes that fit with tobacco prevention efforts. Time: 5 PM. Location: 2424 West 5^th Street, Duluth. Contact: Jodi Broadwell (218) 940-3500.

Students of Lancaster Public School in Lancaster will learn about the toxins of cigarette smoke through educational posters placed around the school.  Between classes, a student will lay in a body bag with a cigarette in their hand and face painted to show students what will happen if they choose to not be tobacco free. Time: 8 AM. Location: 401 Central Avenue, Lancaster. Contact: Sandie Nelson (218) 762-4235.

The Association for Non-Smokers Minnesota will host an educational table event at John Glenn Middle School in Maplewood. Students will be informed about what is in a cigarette, play games and win prizes geared toward tobacco prevention. Time: 10 AM. Location: 1560 County Road, Maplewood. Contact: Jennifer Thomas (651) 247-2107.

All events are on March 16 unless otherwise indicated. For a full list of Kick Butts Day activities in Minnesota, visit www.kickbuttsday.org/map. Additional information about tobacco, including state-by-state statistics, can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.

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SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Related Links

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org