The event is for the whole family and will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. with students and other advocacy groups promoting awareness of the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke on children and beloved family pets by encouraging community residents to adopt a ‘Voluntary No Smoking in the Home Policy.’ Guests at the event are asked to honor someone who has been affected by tobacco by writing their name on a ribbon and tying it around one of the 1,200 crosses displayed in front of the community center.
Todays event in Altus is sponsored by Southwest OK Community Action Group’s Jackson County Tobacco Education Program, Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT), the Jackson County Community Health Action Team, Jackson County Memorial Hospital, and Altus Animal Aid Adoption Center.
Other kids across Oklahoma are rallying against tobacco today as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the fourteenth annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Hundreds of events are planned across the nation.
This year, Kick Butts Day is raising awareness about continued tobacco marketing to kids and the need for Congress to crack down on these harmful practices by passing legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.
Kick Butts Day comes on the heels of a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that demonstrated how tobacco marketing continues to influence kids.
At the state level, health advocates are urging governors and legislators to adopt proven measures to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, including higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free workplace laws, and well-funded programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
For more information, call call 482-5040 or contact Dennie Christian at (580) 471-1718.
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