Wednesday Is 'Kick Butts' Day

Wednesday is the 17th annual, national Kick Butts Day, so many parents are focused on a new report: 

"Warning to Parents: How Big Tobacco Targets Kids Today," from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The report shows how tobacco companies are now spending more than $10 billion a year to promote their products, and details how they continue to entice America’s kids. A brand-new video also shows the impact of these efforts, and accompanies this article.

A total of 443,000 Americans die from tobacco use, and 1.4 million kids try their first cigarette each year, according to statistics released today by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Locally, families have had support for years about informing students and educating them about health risks associated with substance abuse through the Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition. Coalition members collaborate with local police groups, including the and the for events, such as medication and drug take back days.

Additionally, coalition members created a new contest this year to heighten awareness.

At the coalition's March 8 meeting, the following upcoming events were noted:

• Speak Hard youth advocacy event:  March 28 – Jefferson City
• Town Hall Meeting:  April 19 – St. Luke’s Hospital, 7 pm. to 9 p.m.
• Medication Take-Back events:  April 28 – various locations, 10 am. to 2 p.m.
• NCADA Teen Institute (Prevention Leadership Retreat for high school students): June 5-8,  Dittmer, MO.  
• NCADA Prevention Leadership Conference (for middle and high school students and sponsors):  August 3 – St. Louis Hilton Airport.  

So how is the tobacco industry marketing to kids today? 

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids representatives outline four recent trends in youth tobacco marketing:

• Heavy advertising and discounting of tobacco products in stores frequented by kids:  Anti-smoking proponents say such marketing makes tobacco products appealing and affordable to teens, two-thirds of whom visit a convenience store at least once a week. Since the 1998 tobacco settlement, tobacco advertising and promotions have soared in convenience stores and other retail outlets, stated Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids spokespeople.
• Increased marketing of smokeless tobacco products, and introduction of new products that look, taste and are packaged like candy:  With smoking on the decline and restricted in most public places, tobacco companies have nearly tripled smokeless tobacco marketing since 1998 and introduced new candy-like products that appeal to kids.
• Proliferation of cheap, sweet-flavored “little cigars”: The tobacco industry has introduced a growing number of cigarette-sized cigars with sweet flavors, colorful packaging and cheap prices, which makes them appealing to children, stated the Kicks Butts campaign advocates.
• Brand extensions of cigarette brands most popular with kids: More than 80 percent of youth smokers prefer Marlboro, Newport and Camel, the three most heavily advertised cigarette brands, according to the campaign's materials. Tobacco companies have introduced numerous cigarette brand extensions and even smokeless tobacco products that carry these same brand names.