New York Kids to 'Kick Butts' on March 18

State Leaders Urged to Support Tobacco Prevention Initiatives

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Mar 13, 2015, 12:00 ET

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kids in New York will stand up to Big Tobacco on March 18 as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 20^th annual Kick Butts Day. More than 1,000 events are planned nationwide for this 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 encourage their peers to stay tobacco-free, demand that tobacco companies stop marketing deadly, addictive products to them and encourage elected officials to do more to reduce youth tobacco use.

This year, Kick Butts Day is focusing attention on how the tobacco industry still spends huge sums on marketing and is adopting new strategies to reach young customers. Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $8.8 billion a year – one million dollars every hour – to market tobacco products. In New York, tobacco companies spend $213.5 million annually on marketing efforts. The industry's tactics that entice kids include:

Splashy ads in magazines with large youth readership, such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine and Rolling Stone.
Widespread advertising and price discounts in stores, which make tobacco products appealing and affordable to kids.
New, sweet-flavored tobacco products such as small cigars and electronic cigarettes. The latest surveys show that youth use of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed.

In addition to organizing events, kids are standing up to the tobacco industry on social media through the #NotAReplacement selfie campaign. The tobacco industry's own documents reveal that they have long targeted kids as "replacement smokers" for the more than 480,000 people their products kill each year in the United States. Kids are taking selfies to say they're not a replacement and sharing the photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the #NotAReplacement hashtag. (view the #NotAReplacement selfie gallery)

"On Kick Butts Day, kids stand up and reject Big Tobacco's manipulative marketing," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We can make the next generation tobacco-free and end the tobacco epidemic for good. Elected officials can help reach that goal by standing with kids and supporting proven strategies to prevent youth tobacco use, including higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free laws and prevention programs."

In New York, tobacco use claims 28,200 lives and costs $10.39 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 7.3 percent of New York's high school students smoke.

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

In New York, activities include:

The Tioga County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (TCCASA) will host an awards banquet in Owego to honor youth for writing letters to loved ones encouraging them to quit using tobacco. Time: 5:30 PM. Location: 6 McMaster Street, Suite 4, Owego. Contact: Christopher Williams (716) 449-7501.

Tenth grade students from across Courtland County will attend a youth conference hosted by Cortland Area Communities That Care. Activities will include a mock "power wall" set up and taking #NotAReplacement selfies. Time: 8:30 AM. Location: Corey Union Function Room, SUNY Cortland, 2000 Prospect Street, Cortland. Contact: Melissa Potter (607) 756-3416.

Students from Fox Meadow High School in Yorktown Heights will hold a health fair with student-created exhibitions including jars of tar, pigs' lungs and more. Time: 9 AM. Location: 845 Fox Meadow Road, Yorktown Heights. Contact: Patricia Gallo (914) 248-3699.

Youth from Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn will canvass the base with handouts about the negative effects of tobacco, a camera and dry erase board with anti-tobacco pledges. They will ask passersby to take an anti-tobacco pledge and have their picture taken to use on social media and in an anti-tobacco pledge book. Time: 4:30 PM. Location: Post Exchange, Fort Hamilton, 125 Wainwright Drive, Brooklyn. Contact: Sarah Ibanez (570) 947-1375.

Students at Sequoya Middle School in Holtsville will set up tables with educational materials and sign a pledge wall, promising to be tobacco-free. Time: 10:30 AM. Location: 750 Waverly Avenue, Holtsville. Contact: Lori Hewlett (631) 207-7100.

For a full list of Kick Butts Day activities in New York, 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