LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 21, 2008) – Stamp Out Smoking, the media and public relations campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, has announced the winners of its fifth annual “The Big Pitch” drama contest.
Fayetteville High School Team A was awarded first-place and was presented with a $2,500 gift certificate to purchase drama equipment for its school. Team members Nathan Trucks and John Couch created a television spot starring Owen Kohler and Mike Thomas about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Their spot will air statewide in the next SOS media campaign. Arkansas High School’s “Razorback TV” team received second-place and was awarded $1,000 in store credit to purchase drama equipment. “Razorback TV” is made up of team members Tony Yarber, Hannah Klenk, Shirley Floyd, Quin Tramel, Ashlyn Rico, Emmanuel Davis, Aaron Brumley, Quintony Chiles, Kenny Nguyen, Jesse Tillis, Meg Fletcher and Chris Gonzalez. Fayetteville High School Team B, which includes students Josh Bonnell, Kyle Erf and Chris Wood, placed third and received a $500 gift certificate to purchase drama equipment.
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Category: Press Release, Prevention
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 31, 2008) – The Youth Extinguishing Smoking Team is hosting its first Arkansas Tobacco-Free Kids Day on April 2, on the steps of the Capitol. The kick-off at the Capitol is the first of several events that will take place throughout the day to promote tobacco-free lifestyles and expose the tobacco industry’s promotional strategies aimed at youth.
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Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 11, 2008) – Today, Dr. Carolyn Dresler of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) announces a new “get out the vote” initiative that urges all Arkansans to rally around Stamp Out Smoking, the media and public relations campaign of the ADH Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program.
“For the first time since the inception of the contest, we are asking the public to participate in the selection of their favorite entry in the ‘The Big Pitch’ drama contest,” said Dresler. “It’s so easy, just go to the stampoutsmoking.com homepage and look for ‘The Big Pitch’.”
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Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK (Feb. 5, 2008) – Stamp Out Smoking (SOS), the media and public relations campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP), announced today the 2008 “SOS Clean Air Avengers ” essay contest. This contest will give Arkansas students in grades 2-9 the opportunity to submit an essay about a “hero” in their lives who maintains a healthy and smoke-free lifestyle. “SOS Clean Air Avengers” is an online contest in which students may submit their entries through the SOS Web site, stampoutsmoking.com, by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 14. Essays should include examples of the ways in which their “hero” practices and encourages a healthy and tobacco-free lifestyle. All essays should be between 300 and 750 words. (more…)
Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK (January 29, 2008) — Stamp Out Smoking (SOS), the media and public relations campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP), announced today it would sponsor the fifth annual tobacco-free drama contest. Entitled “The Big Pitch,” the contest will give students across Arkansas the chance to write and star in their own television spot highlighting the dangers of secondhand smoke. Through participation in the program, students statewide will have the opportunity to creatively develop a spot with their peers, win money for their school’s drama departments, and participate in a professional production should their spot be selected to be made into a commercial. (more…)
Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Jan. 17) —The American Lung Association recently awarded Arkansas with an “A” in tobacco prevention and control spending in its report “State of Tobacco Control 2007,” which also included an “A” in smoke-free air laws.
The annual report tracks progress on key tobacco control guidelines at the state and federal levels, and assigns grades to policies on smoke-free air, cigarette taxes, tobacco prevention spending, and youth access to tobacco products.
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Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK (Dec. 18, 2007) – Stamp Out Smoking (SOS), the media and public relations campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP), announced today Father Alberto Cutié will join other celebrities in the efforts to promote a healthy, tobacco-free life. The SOS celebrity campaign has enlisted high profile celebrities such as Academy Award-winning actress Mary Steenburgen, former Middleweight Boxing Champion Jermain Taylor and Nickelodeon star Lil’ JJ. (more…)
Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (Dec. 19, 2007) – Stamp Out Smoking (SOS), Arkansas’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, through the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), is inviting Arkansas primary and secondary schools to help spread the smoking prevention and cessation message again this year.
Although many steps have been taken to discourage non-smokers from ever smoking and to encourage smokers to quit, the best way to reach the younger audiences that are targets for the tobacco companies is through the schools, according to Dr. Carolyn Dresler, Branch Chief, ADH Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Branch. (more…)
Category: Press Release
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 19, 2007) – Students at 15 Arkansas High Schools have been selected to receive $1,000 per school to implement service-learning projects for Stamp Out Smoking (SOS), the media and public relations campaign for the Arkansas Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program (TPCP).
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Category: Press Release
(Little Rock–) While national smoking rates for high school kids have stopped declining, Arkansas’s rate has hit an historic low, according to a new study by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). The Youth Tobacco Study (YTS) released today shows that between 2000 and 2007, the rate of current cigarette smoking dropped from 35.8 to 20.4 percent among Arkansas’s high school students, cutting the rate almost in half. Current smoking is defined as smoking on one or more days of the thirty days preceding the survey. (more…)
Category: Press Release
