March 18 is Kick Butts Day

BreatheND News is the official newsletter of the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy. The Center, created by a statewide initiated measure passed by North Dakota voters, is funded by tobacco settlement dollars and is a comprehensive tobacco use prevention and control program.

On March 18, youth across the country are encouraged to stand up against tobacco companies on the twentieth annual Kick Butts Day. Tobacco companies continue to find new ways to market to youth, despite promises made in the 1998 tobacco settlement to stop the practice, and Kick Butts Day is a national day for youth to speak against that corrupt practice.
 
One of big tobacco’s recent strategies is promoting electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to youth. Currently, there is no federal regulation in place that prevents minors from purchasing e-cigarettes in the United States, but 41 states have chosen to taken action by passing youth access laws that prohibit selling these devices to minors. In North Dakota, there is no state law in place, but 23 cities have passed ordinances in an effort to keep these products out of the hands of minors.
 
Tobacco companies exploit the lack of restrictions and develop fruit- and candy-flavored e-cigarettes that directly appeal to youth.
 
A recent nationwide study, “Monitoring the Future,” shows the need for immediate action. Young people are taking up e-cigarettes at an alarming rate and use rates have now surpassed the use of conventional cigarettes. The report states that eighth and tenth graders are using e-cigarettes at twice the rate of regular cigarettes.
 
We need to do everything we can to protect our children from a lifetime of tobacco use, and part of that is making sure e-cigarettes are properly regulated. Kick Butts Day is a great way to educate youth about the importance of remaining tobacco-free because the event is geared specifically towards kids. That gives us the chance to tailor all the information to youth and how tobacco companies target them specifically.
 
Along with educating youth, research has shown that another effective way to prevent tobacco use is to increase the cost of tobacco. According to research supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Lung Association, increasing North Dakota’s tobacco tax from $.44 per pack to $1.56 per pack would reduce youth smoking rates by 23.3 percent.
 
Making tobacco less affordable is a proven way to prevent youth from using tobacco products. More expensive tobacco products and restrictions that prohibit minors from buying e-cigarettes will both go a long way in protecting our youth from big tobacco’s corrupt marketing practices.
 
Action is needed now to protect the next generation of kids from nicotine products and help them stay smoke-free, tobacco-free and nicotine-free.
 
Follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook for regular updates on smoke-free and tobacco prevention issues.
 
BreatheND is the official website and logo of the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy, a division of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Executive Committee. North Dakota voters passed a statewide initiated measure that created the Tobacco Prevention and Control Executive Committee and requires a portion of the money North Dakota receives from tobacco settlement dollars to be used for tobacco prevention and control programs. The Center, along with the North Dakota Department of Health, local public health units and other partners, is charged with implementing North Dakota’s comprehensive state tobacco prevention plan: Saving Lives – Saving Money.

Back to the newsletter section.