Today, 494,000 Texas girls under age 18 are likely to become daily smokers and 158,000 girls under the age 18 are likely to die prematurely as a result. To counter such trends, girls from oriGENal voice use media and technology to make healthy choices for their future, and take action by influencing their peers, families, and community to do the same. As a result of their efforts, thousands of Central Texas girls have pledged to be tobacco-free.

Everyday in Texas, 87 people die from tobacco-related diseases. This alarming fact was the focal point of oriGENal voice’s “87” campaign that took place at Paredes Middle School and Bedichek Middle School in Austin during the first two weeks of May. On Monday, oriGENal voice posted thirty “87” posters throughout the two campuses to create a buzz among students and teachers around this mysterious number 87. On Wednesday, a morning announcement revealed to over 2,000 students on both campuses the meaning of 87. Students were urged not to use tobacco and to remember what 87 represents. After the announcement, posters stating the meaning of 87 were put up and left for the rest of the week as a reminder to the students of the number’s significance. The campaign was evaluated by implementing pre and post surveys to 75 sixth graders, and, based on the results, "the “87” campaign successfully raised students’ consciousness and awareness about the dangers related to smoking." The results also stated, "the majority of students currently intend to remain non-smokers and understand the negative health consequences associated with smoking."

• Each day, more than 4,000 kids try their first cigarette; each day more than 2,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. That's more than 730,000 new underage daily smokers each year.
• The addiction rate for smoking is higher than the addiction rate for marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine; symptoms of serious nicotine addiction often occur only weeks or even just days after youth "experimentation" when smoking first begins.
• Almost 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18.
• The peak years for first trying to smoke are in the sixth and seventh grades, or between the ages of 11 and 12, with a considerable number of children starting even earlier.
• 16 percent of 10th graders and 9.2 percent of 8th graders are current smokers.
• One-quarter of our children are current smokers by the time they leave high school.
• More than 6.4 million children under age 18 alive today will eventually die from smoking-related disease, unless current rates are reversed.
• Smoking can also seriously harm kids while they are still young. Besides the immediate bad breath, irritated eyes and throat, and increased heartbeat and blood pressure, near-term harms from youth smoking include respiratory problems, reduced immune function, increased illness, tooth decay, gum disease, and pre-cancerous gene mutations.
• Youths age 12-17 who smoke are more than 11 times as likely to use illicit drugs and 16 times as likely to drink heavily as youths who do not smoke.
• Kids are more susceptible to cigarette advertising and marketing than adults. While only half of smokers over age 25 buy the top three brands, 82 percent of youth smokers (12-17) choose the three most heavily advertised brands: Marlboro, Camel, and Newport.

Facts compiled from the following fact sheets by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, at www.tobaccofreekids.org: Smoking and Kids, Tobacco Use Among Youth, Smoking and Other Drug Use, Smoking Addiction Starts at Early Ages

• How Parents can Protect Their Kids
• How Schools can Help Kids Stay Tobacco-Free

Activities

• Be True to Yourself. Take a Stand. - Download the activity here.
• Can Advertising Hook Me? See For Yourself! - Download the activity here.
• It All Ads Up. Calculating the Cost of Cigarettes - Download the activity here.
• Love Your Body. Don't Smoke. - Download the activity here.

10 Tips for Talking to Your Child About Smoking

• Let your child know how you feel about tobacco use. Give clear, specific messages when talking about tobacco use so your child will know exactly what is expected.
• Children listen. When it comes to making decisions about risky behaviors, children value the clear messages and the accurate information you give them.
• Don't assume that your child will learn to be smoke-free at school. Help educate your child by emphasizing the immediate and long-term health effects of cigarettes. Destroy the myth that everybody smokes and help them to recognize cigarette ads that are targeted towards youth.
• Be aware of who your child hangs out with. If they have at least one close friend who smokes, the chances that they will pick up a cigarette are much greater.
• Encourage your child to walk away from friends who don't recognize or respect their reasons for not smoking.
• If you smoke, share your struggles to quit with your child. Children greatly underestimate how difficult it is to quit smoking. Showing how hard it is to quit can help eliminate this misperception. Continuing to try to quit, despite the difficulties, also sends a strong anti-tobacco message to your children.
• Have extended family support to keep kids tobacco-free. Instruct all smoking relatives to not provide tobacco to your child. Also, maintain a smoke-free home. Not allowing anyone to smoke in your home creates a powerful statement that you believe smoking is undesirable.
• Don't believe that tobacco use is less dangerous than other risky behaviors. In addition to well known long term effects, using tobacco has immediate social and health consequences.
• Help clean up tobacco in your child's environment. Insist on tobacco-free school zones, and protest if neighborhood stores sell tobacco to children.
• It is never too early or too late to intervene. Children often take their first puffs at ages 7-9, and even those who have been smoking for several years can be helped to quit.

What to Do if Your Child Already Smokes

• Resist lecturing or turning your advice into a sermon.
• Uncover what appeals to your child about smoking and talk about it honestly.
• Remind your child about the immediate downsides to smoking: less money to spend on other pursuits, shortness of breath, bad breath, yellow teeth, and smelly clothes. Many times, kids aren't able to appreciate how their current behaviors can affect their future health.
• Stick to the smoking rules you've set up. And don't let your child smoke at home to keep him or her at home or to keep the peace.
• If your child says, "I can quit any time I want," ask him or her to show you by quitting cold turkey for a week.
• Don't nag your child to quit. Ultimately, the decision is your child's - focus on helping your child to make a wise one.
• Help your child develop a quitting plan and offer information and resources.
• Reinforce your child's decision to quit with praise.
• Stress the natural rewards that come with quitting: freedom from addiction, improved fitness, better athletic performance, and improved appearance.
• Encourage a meeting with your child's doctor, who can be supportive emotionally and may have treatment plans.

See out what other Texans are doing to stop tobacco-use in their communities:

• Worth It
• Duck Texas
• OTPC (Office of Tobacco Prevention and Control)
• Tobacco Free Amarillo
• STEP (Texas Statewide Tobacco Education & Prevention)
• STOPN (Spit Tobacco Prevention Network)
• TCADA (Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse)

Check out these National Anti-Tobacco Programs:

• Tobacco-Free Kids
• Big Tobacco Sucks! (Campaign Against Transnational Tobacco)
• American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout
• American Legacy Foundation
• American Cancer Society - Click here to see what's happening in your community.
• American Heart Association - Click here to see what's happening at your local AHA chapter.
• American Lung Association
• Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation