Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma, tobacco companies spend $160.3 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 Oklahoma, tobacco use claims 7,500 lives and costs $1.62 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 18.5 percent of Oklahoma'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 Oklahoma, activities include:

Students Taking a New Direction (STAND) youth coalition in Ada will take pictures of tobacco advertising, tobacco product placement, and how they feel tobacco targets them as part of the #NotAReplacement campaign at Wintersmith Park. Attendees will receive t-shirts and lunch and participate in an organized cigarette butt clean up. Time: 10 AM. Location: Kiwanis Pavilion, 1724 Wintersmith Drive, Ada. Contact: Timber Underwood (580) 490-2148.

Latinos M-POWER, the Oklahoma City County Health Department and students from Latino Agency Youth "4-H" are raising awareness of tobacco's dangers and waste through a cigarette butt cleanup on the grounds of Wiley Post Park. Time: 1 PM. Location: 2021 S. Robinson Avenue, Oklahoma City. Contact: Oscar Ruiz (405) 201-1873.

The Pawnee Nation will hold activities including a bean bag toss, guess the cost of the butts contest, take photos for the #NotAReplacement campaign, and have an educational booth featuring information on the dangers of tobacco use. Time: 3 PM. Location: 400 Agency Road, Building 64, Pawnee. Contact: Dana Beard (918) 370-5734.

Students from the Fort Sill School Age Center will color posters with anti-smoking drawings, chalk driveways with messages about the dangers of tobacco, and participate in an anti-tobacco kickball game. Time: 4 PM. Location: 6599 Lucas Road, Fort Sill. Contact: Darrell Ames (580) 442-4500.

All of the above-mentioned events are on March 18. For a full list of Kick Butts Day activities in Oklahoma, 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