Submitted by Bedford Youth and Family Services
This is the third year that Bedford Youth and Family Services’ (BYFS) Peer Mentors will be participating in Kick Butts Day. The Peer Mentors will be doing activities with middle school students at the Recreation Department sponsored teen center called “The Corner”. They will work on announcements to inform students about Kick Butts Day, create posters that show what ingredients are in cigarettes, and prepare tobacco facts to post in high traffic areas at Bedford High School.
Current cigarette use among Bedford youth has decreased markedly over time, from a high of 27% in 2001 to 4% in 2014 among high school students and from 9% in 1999 to less than 1% in 2014 among middle school students. The rate of current cigarette use among Bedford high school students (4%) is also much lower than the 2013 Massachusetts average of 14%. (2014 Bedford Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
We know how to win the fight against tobacco by doing three things:
- Prevent kids from starting to smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products;
- Help current tobacco users quit; and
- Protect everyone from harmful secondhand smoke.
Parents can help by not smoking, not smoking in front of children, and by talking to their children about tobacco use.
Ninety percent of smokers start by age 18. With teenagers being particularly susceptible to forming this habit, educators can play a critical role in helping to inform students about the dangers of tobacco use. On March 18, during the 20th Annual Kick Butts Day (KBD), educators will join students and health advocates across America in highlighting the dangers of tobacco use and aggressive marketing practices by the tobacco industry.
Tobacco kills 1,300 Americans every single day. The tobacco industry understands the long-term effect of this daily loss of customers and, to keep replenishing its customer base, has marketed its products aggressively, particularly to youth. In 2011, tobacco companies spent $8.8 billion – $1 million every hour – to market their deadly and addictive products. They target kids because they need “replacement smokers” to take the place of smokers who die or quit.
Additional information about tobacco, including state-by-state statistics, can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.
Editor’s Note: The local statistics in this article were updated on March 16, 2015, to provide Bedford’s most current numbers.
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