Young Lungs at Play-Recognizing Community Leaders
And Raising Awareness of Kick Butts Day
Blair County Drug and Alcohol Program, Inc. is recognizing Blair County community leaders for adopting policies for tobacco-free, outdoor play and recreation areas. An awards breakfast will be held at the Casino at Lakemont Park on Monday, March 18th, 2013, which is during the week the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids promotes Kick Butts Day ( March 20th, 2013).
Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco to raise awareness of the tobacco problem, encourage youth to stay tobacco-free and urge strong action to protect kids from tobacco.
The Young Lungs at Play initiative focuses on keeping tobacco smoke and tobacco users away from kids. This is a step in the right direction to show kids that healthy outside recreation and tobacco use should not mix. It is a step toward making smoking-“not the norm”. It is a strategy to reduce exposure to second hand smoke. It also keeps the parks cleaner.
Why do we want to have these policies? When children see adult role models exhibiting unhealthy behaviors, they get the message that it is OK to copy that behavior. The children have more access to tobacco products, are more likely to experiment with them and then more likely to become addicted.
In Blair County, the following entities have adopted the Young Lungs at Play policy and have posted the signage that states the area is a tobacco-free zone:
Garver Memorial YMCA-Roaring Spring
Joshua House Community Center-Tyrone
Blair County Valley View Park-Altoona
Central Blair Recreation Commission-Altoona
Northern Blair Recreation Commission-Tipton
Martinsburg Memorial Park
Bellwood Antis Park Authority
For more information on Kick Butts Day visit www.kickbuttsday.org
About Kick Butts Day
Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco. The next Kick Butts Day is March 20, 2013. We’re expecting more than 1,000 events in schools and communities across the United States and even around the world.
On Kick Butts Day, teachers, youth leaders and health advocates organize events to:
· Raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use in their state or community;
· Encourage youth to reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive marketing and stay tobacco-free; and
· Urge elected officials to take action to protect kids from tobacco.
Kick Butts Day is organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and sponsored by the United Health Foundation. The first Kick Butts Day was held in 1996.