March 18, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
Take Down Tobacco, sponsored by the DeKalb Prevention Coalition, is a fresh take on Kick Butts Day and is the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ signature platform for empowering people to stand up and speak out against the tobacco industry. The Take Down Tobacco program is a 365 day a year effort that culminates every March with the Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action.
This year’s Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action is being held today (Wednesday, March 18). This year also marks the 25th occurrence of this event, and there have been many important victories since the first Kick Butts Day was held in 1996.
“Take Down Tobacco is a National Day of Action. A day of activism where communities across the globe rally to push for the first tobacco-free generation. Youth tobacco rates are at a 20 year high in the U.S. Due to the worsening youth e-cigarette epidemic, and tobacco is still the number 1 cause of death in the U.S. and across the globe. Today, we ask all students, teachers, parents, elected leaders, health professionals, advocates and concerned citizens to help in the fight to Take Down Tobacco,” said Lisa Cripps. Coordinator of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition.
#TakeDownTobacco
Over the past quarter century, the U.S. has made remarkable progress in doing just what the Kick Butts Day name describes: kicking butts. But even though youth smoking rates are on a downward trend and at an all-time low, skyrocketing youth e-cigarettes rates are reversing the progress we’ve made toward achieving the first tobacco-free generation. And of course, from cigarettes and cigars to smokeless tobacco to heat-not-burn cigarettes, the tobacco industry peddles a wide range of addictive and dangerous products that put kids at risk across the globe.
Take Down Tobacco is a reflection of both how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go to achieve the first tobacco-free generation.
On March 18, 2020, the Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action, youth activists, educators, parents, health advocates and concerned citizens come together to organize events that:
• Raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use in their community
• Encourage youth to reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive marketing and stay tobacco-free
• Urge elected officials to take action to protect kids from tobacco
Take Down Tobacco is a project of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.