Tennessee Youngsters Kick Butts to Fight Tobacco Use

Thousands of youngsters throughout Tennessee will join peers across the country to celebrate Kick Butts Day on April 2nd. This nationwide day of youth activism against tobacco urges children and teenagers to take leadership roles in the effort to stop and prevent youth tobacco use.
“Smoking rates among Tennessee high school students have dropped from 26.3 percent to 25.5,” said Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN, Commissioner of Health. “This shows that youngsters in our state are turning away from the deadly habit of tobacco use. I applaud the efforts of all Tennessee kids who are taking part in Kick Butts Day to share this lifesaving message with their fellow students.”

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 peers about the deceptive marketing practices used by tobacco companies.

“Young people are a powerful part of the solution to reducing youth tobacco use,” said Cathy Taylor, DrPH, MSN, RN, Assistant Commissioner for Health Services. “For Kick Butts Day 2008, Tennessee kids are sending two important messages: they want the tobacco industry to stop targeting them with advertising and they want elected leaders at all levels to do more to protect them from tobacco.”

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Tennessee and throughout the United States, killing more than 400,000 people nationwide every year. Every day, more than 4,000 American children try their first cigarettes, and another 1,000 kids become addicted smokers, one-third of whom will die prematurely as a result. In Tennessee, 488,000 children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes, and 25 children under the age of 18 become new smokers each day.

The Tennessee Department of Health has services available to help both teenage and adult smokers kick the habit. Contact your local health department for details. A list of Tennessee’s health department locations can be found online at http://health.state.tn.us/localdepartments.htm.

Adult smokers in Tennessee can also take advantage of the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine, a free coaching service available to all adult state residents who want to stop use of cigarettes or other tobacco products. The QuitLine’s trained and credentialed counselors guide callers through all phases of the quitting process. Approximately 25 percent of Tennessee’s QuitLine callers remain tobacco free 12 months after completing the program, while tobacco users who try to quit “cold turkey” have only a 3 to 5 percent success rate. To learn more about the QuitLine, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-800-784-8669), or visit the Web site at http://health.state.tn.us/tobaccoquitline.htm.

Kick Butts Day is led by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. This national organization estimates that youth will lead more than 2,000 events nationwide to commemorate the thirteenth annual Kick Butts Day. To learn more, go to www.kickbuttsday.org.