This post was created in partnership with Tobacco Free New York State. All opinions and complete support expressed are my own.
Children and Tobacco
I think that most of us know that smoking and tobacco products are not healthy options for us. We have already started to speak to our 12 and 10 year olds about it since we feel the issue to be of such importance. These are just one of the many issues that seems to come up fast and seems to hit you out of nowhere. Whether you are ready for it or not, you have to act because it’s a topic that needs to be addressed early and often. Kids are impressionable and open to trying new things, especially when peer pressure may be involved.
I have a real eye-opening statistic for you. It really blew my mind and just seems like insanity to me. The average age of a new smoker is 13 years old and I just can’t believe this. How can this possibly be? Don’t most people today know of the dangers of smoking? Maybe they do and maybe they don’t. What’s for sure is that tobacco companies are spending billions to put their products in front of our kids in stores. And the more kids see tobacco, the more likely they are to start smoking. “Advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies have been shown to cause the onset and continuation of smoking among adolescents and young adults**,” this is according to The U.S. Surgeon General.
Enter Tobacco Free New York State…
Tobacco Free New York State Campaign
The Tobacco Free New York State Campaign uses video, social media, digital advertising and more with one goal in mind. That goal is to safeguard of children from tobacco promotions kids see daily.
I love concept because it seems to be hitting a real sweet spot that almost all kids should understand. These creative and thought-provoking images creatively combine cigarettes with common children’s items. Think crayons, a birthday cake and a crib mobile creatively placed in scenarios intended to encourage awareness and prompt outrage in parents, kids, and the community alike. Decreasing youth tobacco use, motivating adult smokers to quit, and eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke are the very definite and important goals of this campaign. This seems like a lofty goal, but something that’s really admirable and, I think, achievable. It’s an amazing, creative, and comprehensive campaign that we really all can be proud of.
Sign The Petition!
Our kids have seen enough. It’s time to take action and protect kids from being exposed to tobacco products in stores – sign the “Seen Enough Tobacco” pledge today to make New York a healthier place to live, work and play!
You can learn what they can do to protect children from smoking and tobacco promotions and join more than 15,000 others throughout the state by pledging your support Tobacco Free New York State’s website SeenEnoughTobacco.org.
Sign the pledge if you agree with Tobacco Free New York State that kids should grow up without tobacco in their faces!!!!!
Find Out More
Maybe now is a good time to get more involved with this if you agree with its goals. To find out more about the campaign, please check out:
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Facebook: facebook.com/TobaccoFreeNYS
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Twitter: twitter.com/TobaccoFreeNYS
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Instagram: instagram.com/TobaccoFreeNYS
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YouTube: youtube.com/user/tobaccofreenys
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Search Hashtag: #SeenEnoughTobacco
**A Report of the Surgeon General “The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress” 2014, p. 12, 696, 708: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/50-years-of-progress/full-report.pdf
8 comments
This is a great cause to get behind. Smoking is such a destructive habit and keeping their advertising and displays away from our children is a very important first step.
This is definitely a great cause and campaign. I guess I didn’t pay much attention but now I realize how much kids are exposed to cigarettes in film and video.
13 is just crazy! More than ever we know the dangers of smoking. I am aghast people still opt to do it. It’s so important we get the unnecessary advertising away from our kids.
My daughter is 14 and I just can’t imagine her running around puffing away. That’s sad that kids even think about picking up this disgusting habit. Getting the advertising out of sight of children is the first step to keeping kids smoke free.
This is something that we should all pay attention to. Kids are very much exposed to smoking and they’re the target audience as well. I think it’s about time we made a move to stop it all.
This is such an incredible campaign. I so happy my kids despise cigarette smoke now, and hope it stays that way forever!
I can’t believe that the average age that kids begin to smoke is 13. So glad that this campaign is trying to protect children from the dangers of tobacco. What a great cause.
This is something that alarms me because I have two teens at the moment and one well on his way to being a teenager. It’s really important that we try to stop this as much as we can. I appreciate your raising awareness and spreading the word.