Media Release

Local Teens Learn to Resist Candy Flavored Tobacco

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL - The Alachua County Comprehensive Tobacco Prevention and Control Program will host a youth focused Mardi Gras Carnival on March 27, 2009 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in celebration of Kick Butts Day.  This event is free and open to the public.  Refreshments will be served.

The event will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Recreation Center located at 1028 NE 14th St. Gainesville, FL.  It will include music, interactive games, door prizes, exhibits, and free t-shirts to the first 100 kids.  Participating youth will learn about the strategies used by the tobacco industry to promote initiation of youth tobacco use and will have opportunities to develop skills to resist these marketing techniques.  The Alachua County Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) students will host a mock funeral service to put tobacco to rest and allow community members to remember their family members or friends that were affected by tobacco.

"This Kick Butts Day program will provide a much needed intervention for the youth in Alachua County in a festive format", says Tommie Howard, President of the Reichert House.  "As the Chairman of the Community Policy Subcommittee of the Alachua County Tobacco Free Partnership, I am delighted to be affiliated with such a worthwhile program that safeguards our youth from the harmful effects of tobacco products."

The Washington, DC-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is one of the largest non-governmental education and advocacy initiatives ever undertaken to decrease youth tobacco use in the United States. The campaign strives to build a healthier future for our children by reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.  The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids hosts the nationwide, annual event Kick Butts Day.  To learn more about Kick Butts Day please visit kickbuttsday.org.

For more information about the Kick Butts Day event at Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Recreation Center please contact Latisha Davis at (352) 334-7914 or email her at Latisha_Davis@doh.state.fl.us. 

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