Youth help educate legislators about teen tobacco use
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On Monday, March 11, reACT, Montana’s youth-led tobacco prevention program against corporate tobacco, hosted more than 150 youth and adult volunteers at the state capitol for the 2013 Celebration on the Hill.
ReACT and the American Cancer Society trained these volunteers on tobacco prevention issues before they met with their local legislators to educate them about tobacco use in Montana.
“The use of tobacco products by youth in Montana is a problem we need to take very seriously,” said Richard H. Opper, director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. “reACT serves to educate both teens and adults on the consequences of both smoking and the use of alternative tobacco products.”
Legislator education will focus on non-cigarette tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco, cigars, and e-cigarettes. While 16 percent of Montana teens smoke, more than one out of every four Montana teens (27 percent) is a current tobacco user. Of these tobacco users, almost half (44 percent) are using two or more tobacco products.
Use of more than one tobacco product by a tobacco user may create greater nicotine dependency, making it harder for these users to quit successfully.
Alternative tobacco products, such as cigarillos and chew have been made more appealing to youth with candy flavoring, low prices, and aggressive marketing in stores.
