Teens Reaching Out to Teens

KICK BUTTS DAY - NINE YEARS AND KICKIN’

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 23, 2004) -- In an effort to educate others, hundreds of teens across the state are planning Kick Butts Day activities - events aimed at educating teens about the health risks of tobacco use, and alerting the public to the marketing practices of the tobacco industry. 

Although Kick Butts Day - March 31 -- will fall during spring break for most Kentucky students, many areas have scheduled their activities before or after the early April school holiday.

Currently, 34 percent of Kentucky high school students smoke; 15 percent of middle school students smoke.  Both rates are well in excess of the national averages of 28 percent and 11 percent respectively.  To meet the Healthy Kentuckians 2010 goals, current cigarette smoking must be reduced to 28 percent for high school students.

“I’m glad to see our teens involved in helping to spread the word about the harm tobacco can cause,” said Dr. Rice Leach, commissioner of the Department for Public Health.  “Teens don't realize just how easy it is to become addicted by smoking just a few cigarettes before they leave high school.   If we can encourage them not to start we can save lives and lower health care costs at the same time.”

Kick Butts Day is a national teen initiative to encourage teens to take an active role in choosing a healthier lifestyle - one that does not include tobacco use.  Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.  In Kentucky, nearly 8,000 die each year as a result of tobacco use.  Every day more than 4,000 kids nationwide try their first cigarette; another 2,000 become addicted smokers. 

Across the state, teens will participate in a variety of Kick Butts Day activities to increase awareness of the effects of tobacco use. 

• Teens in Louisville will be cleaning up cigarette butts tossed out on sidewalks, park paths and roadways.
• The Students That Oppose People Smoking (STOPS) group at Clark County High School will place 1200 X’s throughout the parking lot and school to represent the 1200 people that die each day due to tobacco related illnesses.  John Hardin High School students will place 1200 silhouettes around the commons areas of their high school to acknowledge the human toll of tobacco.
• In Harrison County, teen tobacco coalition members will visit elementary school students and provide information on the health risks of tobacco use.
• Teens in Georgetown will take to the streets to clean up the litter caused when motorists toss their cigarette butts out car windows.
• The Student Advisory Committee from Western Kentucky University will meet with Warren County high school students to discuss the negative effects that tobacco use has on athletic performance.
• The Marion County High School TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use) group will visit the middle and elementary schools to speak about the health risks of tobacco use.
• Bardstown High School students are creating an “Anti-tobacco” commercial.
• The Bath County Champions youth advisory boards will conduct an “operation storefront”.  They will visit local retailers to draw attention to the tobacco industry’s marketing practices.
• Pike County students will receive a visit from “Butthead” who will tell them about all the smart reasons to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• Students in the Powell County High School will don green ribbons in memory of loved ones who have died of smoking related illnesses.

This year marks the ninth consecutive year for the Kick Butts Days activities.  Kick Butts Day is sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a Washington D.C.-based youth advocacy group supported by such non-profit agencies as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association and many others. 

For information about Kick Butts Day activities in your area, contact the tobacco coordinator at your local health department.  Information about national activities can also be found at www.kickbuttsday.org http://www.kickbuttsday.org.  For more information about the Kentucky Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, log onto http://chs.ky.gov/publichealth/tobacco.htm or contact Irene Centers at 502-564-7996, extension 3808.

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