(BLOOMINGTON) – The Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action scheduled for March 17th has been canceled.
Earlier:
Join the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Monroe County and raise awareness for Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 (rain date is Friday, March 20) at 528 South College Avenue in Bloomington.
Participants will assist in picking up tobacco products on a walk along the B-Line trail.
If interested in joining the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Monroe County on March 17, contact Patricia Colon at pcolon@iuhealth.org or see the event on Facebook (@tobaccofreemonroe).
Tobacco Use is Increasing for Indiana Teens
The 2018 Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey from the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission reported that “more than one in five Indiana high school students and nearly 1 in 12 Indiana middle school students reported current (past 30 day) use of any tobacco product.”
The rise in tobacco product use has been attributed to the growing use of e-cigarettes. And it’s hard to ignore tobacco advertising for youth since they are three times more sensitive to tobacco advertising and the tobacco industry spends an estimated $293.2 million a year in Indiana alone.
Fighting back against tobacco
It’s been shown that efforts such as comprehensive community and statewide tobacco control programs, tobacco-free school policies and mass media campaigns have helped dissuade young people from using tobacco.
Additionally, increasing tobacco product prices have been effective in helping to reduce youth tobacco use and the newly released 2020 Surgeon General’s Report recommends taxing all tobacco products.
Today’s youth have the potential to become the first tobacco-free generation. Take Down Tobacco is a great opportunity for local youth to be empowered and help themselves – and their peers – live tobacco-free.
