http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/ResourcesforYou/BreakTheChain/default.htm

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

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.

To celebrate its fifth successful year, SOS added a People’s Choice Award to allow Arkansans to view entries online and vote for their favorite.  The winner of the first People’s Choice Award is Haas Hall Academy, which includes team members Laferil Smith, Levi Foster and David Joseph.  Entries were posted on stampoutsmoking.com, and more than 1,100 people participated in the selection of the People’s Choice winner.

Middle and high school students around the state were invited to create 27-second television spots focusing on the dangers of secondhand smoke.  This year, SOS received 28 entries, the most in the history of the contest

An independent panel of judges from Stephen F. Austin State University’s drama department in Nacogdoches, Texas, evaluated the entries and selected the winners.  Previous drama contest winners include Conway, Mountain Home, North Little Rock and Fayetteville high schools.  Conway High School’s winning concept from the 2007 contest is currently airing statewide.

For more information about SOS school and community programs, visit stampoutsmoking.com.