Human Relations Media Blog
Information and Resources for Guidance Counselors & Health Teachers
National Kick Butts Day
Posted on March 6th 2013
National Kick Butts Day!
March 20, 2013 is National Kick Butts Day, a day meant for kids to kick their nicotine habit. It's a day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up, and seize control against Big Tobacco. Organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and funded by the United Heath Foundation, National Kick Butts Day is celebrating it's 17th annual effort to rid the world of tobacco.
On Kick Butts Day, teachers and students are urged to:
- Raise awareness about tobacco and the problems it causes. How does tobacco affect your own community?
- Encourage students to kick the habit
- Talk to community leaders and elected officials about making changes to protect today's youth
Did You Know?
- Tobacco is the #1 cause of preventable death in the United States and around the world
- Tobacco was responsible for the death of 100,000,000 (one hundred million) people worldwide in the 20th century. The projected deaths from tobacco in the 21st century is 1 billion.
- Every year, tobacco use kills 400,000 people in the United States-- that's more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drug use, murder, suicide and fires combined.
- Ever year, 5 million people worldwide die from tobacco-cause illnesses. The vast majority began smoking as children.
- Tobacco causes various types of cancer, heart disease and emphysema.
- Tobacco costs the U.S. $96 billion in health care costs for people sickened by tobacco, and another $97 billion in lost productivity.
What You Can Do:
Start a conversation in your classroom about tobacco. What is the allure? What are your students' perceptions of fellow classmates who smoke or use spit tobacco? What can they do to quit? Under what circumstances could they successfully kick the habit?
HRM Video offers videos and curriculum on an array of topics pertaining to tobacco use. Topics include the dangers of tobacco, how to quit, why teens start smoking.
Our video titles include:
Links:
* information from Tobacco-Free Kids
