Arkansas Tobacco-Free Kids Day - April 16th, 2010
Arkansas Kids Rally on March 24
in Support of Tobacco Prevention
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 22, 2010) – Kids in Arkansas will take center stage in the fight against tobacco on March 24 as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 15th annual Kick Butts Day. Arkansas participates in this movement through Arkansas Tobacco Free Kids Day, the local counterpart of the national event, by celebrating youth leadership and activism in the fight against tobacco use. More than 1,000 events are planned in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (for a list of local events see below).
In Arkansas, kids will celebrate with a silent march to the Capitol followed by a noon press conference inside the Rotunda. Through the rally, kids are asking the tobacco companies to stop targeting them with marketing for cigarettes and other tobacco products.
“More than three hundred students from across the state have stepped up to communicate this year’s key message: ‘And That’s Why…No Tobacco Is Safe Tobacco,’” said Genine Perez, Youth Extinguishing Smoking Team coordinator. “These participants play a crucial role in influencing our communities, leaders and peers to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco and to encourage users to quit.”
In Arkansas, tobacco use claims 4,900 lives and costs $812 million in health care bills each year. Currently, 20.7 percent of the state’s high school students smoke, and 13,900 kids try cigarettes for the first time each year.
Featured Events
Activities in Arkansas include (all events are on March 24 unless otherwise noted):
- The Tobacco Control Youth Board will lead Arkansas Tobacco Free Kids Day participants in Little Rock in a silent march to the Capitol. Participants will carry black cardboard coffins to illustrate the deadly effects of tobacco and secondhand smoke. A noon press conference will follow inside the Rotunda of the Capitol where several legislators, tobacco control commissioners, Arkansas Department of Health officials and youth spokespeople will address the crowd. The march will begin at 11:00 a.m., and the press conference will begin at 12:00 p.m.. Location: Capitol Building, Capitol Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, Little Rock. Contact: Genine Perez-Porch (501) 960-6423.
- On April 4, the Parent Center from Dumas School District will host their 6th annual Family Night to celebrate Kick Butts Day and promote healthy lifestyles. Time: 3:45 p.m. Location: Dumas High School Gymnasium, 710 South Cherry Street, Dumas. Contact: Susan Stewart (870) 377-0506.
- On April 23, Baxter County Alternative School students and staff in Mountain Home will showcase cigarette litter that they have collected around the community in front of the courthouse square to rally with local community leaders and the Baxter County Tobacco Control Committee. Time: 11 a.m. Location: Baxter County Courthouse, 1 East 7th Street, Mountain Home. Contact: Eric Totty (870) 321-2833.
About The Partners
The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), a program of the Family Service Agency funded by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), is a youth-led movement aiming to reduce and eliminate the use of tobacco by their peers. The YLI sponsors and facilitates three interconnecting youth organizations: the Tobacco Control Youth Board (TCYB), the Y.E.S. (Youth Extinguishing Smoking) Team, and Team Y.E.S. Speaks. For more information, visit: www.yesteam.org
