Its Kick Butts Day
16th annual Kick Butts Day Wednesday
The 16th annual Kick Butts Day is scheduled for Wednesday. Coordinated by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to speak up and take action against tobacco use at more than 1,000 events from coast to coast. To celebrate Kick Butts Day students from the NOT (Not on Tobacco) Stop Smoking Group at the Academic and Career Education Academy of Midland will be distributing petitions and obtaining signatures for the Knock Tobacco Out of the Park campaign. Use of smokeless tobacco is gaining in popularity with the passage of smokefree air laws in most states. More needs to be done to reduce the major league ball players from setting a bad example to young people. The petitions will be sent to major league officials requesting that they ban all tobacco use on the field and in the dugout.
Tobacco use continues to be the number one cause of preventable death in Michigan, killing more than 14,000 Michigan residents each year. More than 18,000 Michigan kids become smokers each year
A community scan will also be conducted on Kick Butts Day in Midland County to determine how available these new tobacco and non-tobacco nicotine products are locally and how they're being sold and marketed in various venues within the community.
According to Susan Dusseau, Coordinator of the Midland County Tobacco Reduction Coalition, "The most challenging aspect of these new products is their appeal to young people. The packaging, advertising, and flavors of these products are very difficult to distinguish from candy. Kids can begin a lifetime of addiction to nicotine with these products, and be at risk for all of the health issues associated with tobacco use. Kick Butts Day is a great time to raise awareness among parents and kids that these products are not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes."
