Press Releases

Baton Rouge Area Students Ignite the Fight Against Big Tobacco

Baton Rouge Area students will STAND OUTSPEAK UPAND SEIZE CONTROL in the fight against Big Tobacco as they take part in the 11th annual Kick Butts Day celebration, co-sponsored by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. More than 200 students will join the nationwide initiative to stop youth tobacco use with a Kick Butts Day Rally on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol, Wednesday, April 5.

The Kick Butts Day rally will kick off at 11am with a performance by the Louisiana Leadership All-Star Marching Band followed by a tobacco-free dramatization presented by the Baker Drama Club. Councilwoman Lori Burgess will be recognized for her leadership in the quest for a smoke-free Baton Rouge, followed by a smoke-free chant challenge featuring students from Southern University, Louisiana State University, and Baton Rouge Community College.

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. According to the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL), 36.4 percent of Louisiana high school students smoke. Each year, approximately 9,000 children in Louisiana become new daily smokers, one-third of which will die prematurely from smoking. More than 6,400 Louisianans die annually from smoking-attributable deaths.

Preventing young people from starting to use tobacco in the first place is ultimately the most effective way to reduce death and disease caused by tobacco use, says Pam Malveaux, Baton Rouge Area Regional Coordinator of The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living. Kick Butts Day events help kids understand the impact of tobacco on their health and the health of others, and can influence their choice not to smoke or to quit.

On Kick Butts Day, youth advocates bring attention to tobaccos toll on the community, the responsibility of elected leaders to protect all citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke, and tobacco industry tactics that directly target children with deceptive advertising and promotion.

Tobacco companies need to recruit 19 young smokers each day in Louisiana to replace those that die annually from tobacco-related diseases. One of the tobacco industrys latest tactics is to market real cigarettes with candy and fruit flavors that are likely to appeal to kids. R.J. Reynolds, for example, has marketed its Camel cigarettes in flavors such as Warm Winter Toffee, Winter Mocha Mint, Kauai Kolada (pineapple and coconut) and Twista Lime.

“Kick Butts Day is one of the most important days of a youth advocate’s year, says Ritney Castine, 18, Napoleonville. It is the day that youth are in the spotlight to raise awareness and to change how people look at tobacco. It is on this day that things concerning tobacco control in your state can change for the better.”