Monday, March 18, 2013
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Kick Butts Day
Local youth from Binghamton have seen enough
marketing from the tobacco industry and will join youth around the
country to stand up and speak out against big tobacco on Kick Butts Day,
March 20.
In New York State, 107,000 high school students
smoke and each year, 22,000 kids under 18 become new daily smokers.
According to the Surgeon General’s 2012 report Preventing Tobacco Use
Among Youth and Young Adults, youth tobacco use is a “pediatric
epidemic” and is caused, in part, by tobacco industry marketing.
Retailers
in New York display an average of 32 square feet of tobacco products or
the equivalent of more than 200 cigarette pack faces. In New York, 82%
of retailers dedicate at least half of the space behind the checkout
counter to openly visible tobacco products.
Kick Butts Day,
organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is a national day of
activism that empowers youth. There will be more than 1,000 events in
schools and communities across the United States and around the world.
“Since
nearly all adults started smoking before the age of 18, parents and
community members must be aware of the impact of all this point of sale
marketing and take steps to protect our youth,” said Lisa Singleton, RN,
UHS Stay Healthy program, “It’s our community and our kids we want to
protect.”
For more information about the harmful effects of tobacco marketing at the point of sale, visit www.seenenoughtobacco.org.
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