Youth take part in Kick Butts Day
PRESQUE ISLE — Young people from central and southern Aroostook schools are joining thousands of kids across the country who are taking part in Kick Butts Day (KBD), a nationwide initiative that makes kids leaders in the effort to stop youth tobacco use. As part of the Kick Butts Day celebration, students are taking part in Healthy Aroostook’s Aroostook Partnership Extravaganza (APE) at the University of Maine Presque Isle.
Throughout the year, young advocates take part in a variety of activities to protect kids from tobacco, including working with elected officials to develop policies that reduce youth tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and educating their peers about tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing practices.
This year’s event will feature Perfection on Wheels as the keynote speaker and 24 different workshops that will focus on the issues of tobacco prevention, substance abuse prevention, nutrition, community health and physical activity for students in grades 6-8. Gary Walker of All Pro Soccer will be offering a workshop “Smoke-Free Kids and Soccer.” Walker has played and coached professional soccer in England and will help youth improve their soccer abilities while learning about the dangers of tobacco use.
On March 24, elementary, middle and high school students across the country are organizing KBD events to fight youth tobacco use. Young people will participate in a variety of KBD activities such as: surveying tobacco advertising in their communities; urging local officials to support anti-tobacco ordinances; and tossing caps, hats, jackets and other items carrying tobacco brand names into giant dumpsters.
In Maine, Big Tobacco spends $59 million marketing in the state each year. That’s almost $162,000 a day. Sadly, 1,400 kids under 18 become new daily smokers each year in Maine, and 9.2 percent of male high school students use smokeless or spit tobacco.
FMI, visit: kickbuttsday.org.
