Celebrate
the Quitters
Age Group: All ages
Resources: Partnership with local newspaper
Community Indicator: Promote tobacco cessation services
A
couple of weeks prior to a special day/holiday, work with
local newspapers to ask community members to send their names
and the number of years they’ve been tobacco-free. Keep
a list of those people. The week of the special day/holiday,
publish those names in the local newspaper, along with a congratulatory
message. Ask the paper to write an article highlighting one
of the quitters. Include information on cessation services
offered by Smoke Free Society organization (www.SmokeFreeSociety.org)
and/or other available quit smoking resources in your community.
Also, submit those names to SmokeFreeSociety.org
to be listed permanently on their roster of "I
quit, you can too!" to encourage others to quit.
Smoke
Free Society is a nonprofit corporation solely dedicated
to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to
start or use tobacco.
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"Float"
By Tobacco Use
Age Group: Adults
Resources: Float materials, gum, lifesavers, and cessation
materials
Community Indicator: Promote tobacco cessation services
Sponsor
a float in a community parade with the theme "Celebrating
Freedom from Addiction." Staff the float with adults
or youth that have quit smoking. Create t-shirts that say,
"I’ve quit smoking. Ask me how." or "Quit
Yet?" ("Quit Yet?" Has been developed by the
New York City Department of Health). These messages can also
be used on balloons. Gum and lifesavers can be distributed
from the float. Adults who walk along the float can pass out
cessation literature or the "Benefits of Quitting"
card. (Contact the Smoke
Free Society to order). Pitch the media with the story,
including testimonial interviews with smokers who have quit
and cessation services offered by Smoke Free Society organization
(www.SmokeFreeSociety.org)
and/or other available quit smoking resources in your community.
Smoke
Free Society is a nonprofit corporation solely dedicated
to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to
start or use tobacco.
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Tobacco
Free Picnic (youth-focused event)
Age Group: Youth
Resources: paints, markers, food for picnic, prizes
Community Indicator: prevent youth initiation, reduce tobacco
industry influence
The
week of a special day/holiday, host a tobacco-free picnic
with music and games. Hang a large mural, and ask the youth
to put their handprints on the mural using water-soluble paint.
Under their handprints, ask the youth to print their name
and the reason they chose to be smokefree. Invite the media
to watch as the youth participate in this event. Prep youth
beforehand with recent statistics regarding youth tobacco
use rates in their state, and the amount the tobacco industry
spends on advertising and marketing their products in their
states. (Check out www.tobaccofreekids.org
for great info on this topic.)
Promote
the Smoke
Free Society, a nonprofit corporation solely dedicated
to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to
start or use tobacco. (www.smokefreesociety.org)
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Work
with local retailers:
Work with a local tobacco retailer ahead of time to encourage
the removal of tobacco advertising from the store. Conduct
a news conference at the picnic where the retailer will receive
an "Outstanding Community Member Award." Ask the
retailer to challenge other retailers to do the same.
Check
to see if your County Fair accepts tobacco industry sponsorships.
If it does, have the youth sign a petition at the picnic asking
county officials not to accept this sponsorship. Conduct a
news conference at the picnic asking officials to refuse tobacco
sponsorship with the theme, "Say No To Big Tobacco. Our
Kids Are Counting On Us."
Promote
the Smoke
Free Society, a nonprofit corporation solely dedicated
to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to
start or use tobacco. (www.smokefreesociety.org)
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"Roast"
Big Tobacco
Age Group: Youth
Resources: marshmallows, sticks, prizes for gear exchange
Community Indicator: reduce tobacco industry influence
In
addition to having music and fun at a picnic, hold a gear
exchange. Set up a booth where youth can exchange their tobacco
"gear" for something that is fun and health-related.
Under the supervision of an adult and necessary permits, start
a bonfire, burning the tobacco merchandise, tobacco ads, and
gear turned in. Roast marshmallows at the bonfire. Take pictures
of youth "roasting" Big Tobacco. (Great photo opportunity
for the local newspaper.)
Promote
the Smoke
Free Society, a nonprofit corporation solely dedicated
to helping smokers quit smoking and educating kids not to
start or use tobacco. (www.SmokeFreeSociety.org)
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For any
questions about these activities, please contact tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov.
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