Healthy Communities Coalition hosts Kick Butts anti-smoking event Wednesday in Silver Springs

Stand Tall, Healthy Communities Coalition of Silver Springs will host an anti-smoking event Wednesday that will educate seventh through 12th graders about the dangers of tobacco use and the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics.

Kick Butts Day is an annual celebration of youth leadership and activism in the fight against tobacco use.
The event begins at 9 a.m. at 3755 Spruce Avenue, Silver Springs. Additional events in Nevada and across the country can be found at www.kickbuttsday.org/map.

Kids in Nevada will stand up to Big Tobacco Wednesday s 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 Nevada, tobacco companies spend $78.7 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 Nevada, tobacco use claims 4,100 lives and costs $1.08 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 10.3 percent of Nevada’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.

Elsewhere in Northern Nevada, activities include:

Fernley Stand Tall will educate students about the chemicals cigarettes and how they affect the body during lunch periods at Fernley High School. Students in grades nine through 12 will be encouraged to take the #NotaReplacement challenge, pledging their commitment to stay tobacco-free. Time: 10:45 AM. Location: 1330 Highway 95A, Fernley. Contact: Lindsey Kreller (775) 741-8397.

For a full list of Kick Butts Day activities in Nevada, visit www.kickbuttsday.org/map. Additional information about tobacco, including state-by-state statistics, can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.