I was asked to help spread the word about Tobacco-Free Kids Kick Butts Day. For doing so I was compensated, but all opinions expressed are my own. This is an initiative I am proud to take and stand beside.
Today, March 18th, kids in California are joining thousands of other children nationwide for the 19th annual Kick Butts Day! This is a tradition that I am proud to stand behind and beside! I think it can be a healthy thing for kids to get passionate about something as important as their health. Besides, these kids are the future of America and we need them! As part of Kick Butts Day these children are demanding that tobacco companies stop marketing to the young! I mean – shame on them for doing that to begin with, right? In addition to asking them to change their marketing tactics, children are also encouraging elected officials to do MORE to protect them (and us) from these lethal products.
Something very cool that I would like to mention here is that CVS has taken the stand and will be banning tobacco products from their stores later this year. I think it is awesome to see a popular drugstore take a stand for us, the people, to aid citizens in becoming healthier. I’d like to ask all of you to join me, and my little ones, in taking a stand with CVS! In honor of Kick Butts Day, CVS has created a fun print-out campaign so you too can join in the “fun”. Print out your own “I Stand with CVS” sign and snap a picture of you or your kids in front of CVS. Then send it out to your social media channels with the following message: “I #StandWithCVS on #KickButtsDay to #MakeTobaccoHistory @CVS_Extra”. I’d love to see you all on there!
Did you know that Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing 480,000 people and costing the nation at least $289 billion in health care bills and other economic losses each year?
Kick Butts Day was organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and is sponsored by the United Health Foundation. It is a great way to remind everyone of this problem we are facing with tobacco usage. It is a fun way for kids, classes and families to get creative about warning of the harmful ingredients in cigarettes.
Now for some shocking facts:
- Without urgent action to reduce smoking, 5.6 million U.S. children alive today will die prematurely from smoking-caused deaths. That includes 441,000 children in California alone.
- Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $8.8 billion a year – one million dollars each hour – to market cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products; tobacco companies spend $583.4 million on marketing efforts in California. In particular, tobacco companies target youth with magazine ads, store ads and discounts, and fruit- and candy-flavored small cigars that look just like cigarettes.
- In California, 13.8 percent of high school students smoke and 20,300 kids become new daily smokers each year. Nationally, 18.1 percent of high school students still smoke.
What do you think of these statistics? How about you join me on this tobacco-free Kids Kick Butts Day and snap your picture in front of CVS! Will you take a stand?
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