Quirky Take on Anti-Tobacco

Prairie Elementary School Family Fun Day

Our 2nd event of the year was at Family Fun Day in Elk Grove at Prairie Elementary School. There were a few community partners there to inform the public about their different services. As usual, the kids were surprised by our fake rubber lung and were interested in it.

As always, our awesome table set up!

He was very excited about getting our anti-tobacco skateboard.

They were very curious about seeing the smoker's teeth display.

People are signing our petition to support smoke-free outdoor non-recreational areas. 

Signing our petitions and filling out those surveys!

Even the elders came out to see and support us :) .

I like the attentive look on the little girl as Melissa explained what smoking does to your body.

We're never too old for giant stuffed animals!

Kids always flock over to our table one by one to see the cool displays.

Celebrate Natomas 9/11/10

We kicked off our year with our very first event in South Natomas at the Celebrate Natomas event on 9/11/10. It was our first time being a part of this event and we had a really good turn out. We got to meet new people and we were able to let the community in Natomas know about our program and the work we do. Hopefully, next year we'll be a part of this event again. Further updates to come as we attend more events, so come out and support us! Our next event we'll be at will be at Prairie Elementary on Saturday morning on the 9/18. Below are some of the pictures at Celebrate Natomas.

Kicking off our new year with a big event and our brand new banner!

Proudly wearing our stickers to support anti-tobacco.

Filling out the surveys.

Giant stuffed pizza!

UC Davis Going Smoke-Free

It's official! UC Davis is a smoke-free campus!

Awesome Scrubs.

UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento have recently passed a policy that made their entire campus into a SMOKE-FREE facility. It was great news for us mainly because UC Davis is a big part of the community with the Sacramento Area and with them taking this initiative in recognizing the importance of anti-tobacco and public health.

Youth Summit-Smoking Out Tobacco

This summer, ACT-UP along with Breathe of Sacramento went to camp with 35 youths at Camp Tuolumne Trails near Yosemite. During a short 3-day camp, the youths did fun activities such as balloon stomping as an icebreaker in order for them to get used to their surroundings and their peers. Aside from that, the true purpose of the camp was to teach the youths the ways that big tobacco companies are targeting in specific ways. The youths worked on a 2 day long project called "Community Norm Change" aka "CNC." We had a lot of fun and the youths learned valuable skills that they can take with them back to their own schools and communities.

Westfield Mall-Downtown Plaza Going Smoke-Free

On June 17th, 2010 the Downtown Plaza Mall located in the heart of downtown Sacramento adopted a no smoking policy. Our Tobacco Control Program along with Breathe of Sacramento County came together and celebrated this event. It's one of the first steps to bringing Sacramento towards the path of going smoke-free in non-recreational public places. We celebrated this special occasion by giving out free bags with information about cigarette cessation help along with other goodies such as pens, hand sanitizers, and brochures. During the several hours that we were there, many people stopped by and acknowledged us for our work. They were also very supportive of the policy enforced at the mall to put a stop to the careless smoking from other smokers. We hope that the mall security will uphold the policy so that the shoppers along with the general public that pass through the mall can enjoy a great time there without having to inhale the unwanted toxic fumes from the cigarettes.

Indonesian Baby Is Addicted to Smoking

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Health Crisis in China Due to Tobacco

China has more smokers than the US has in our own population. Which means over 350 million people in China smoke each day. Currently, approximately 1 million people die in China each year due to tobacco related illnesses. However, China's tobacco control programs are limited in resources to educate the public about the harmful side effects of smoking. To make it even harder for the public to understand how health damaging smoking is to their well-being is the monopolization of the tobacco industry by the Chinese government. This rather shows that the government is more interested in making money than the health of their citizens. Also, growing tobacco in China is taking up valuable farm land that can be used to grow other food items for the poor and starving rural population. The following is the cover story done by Ray Suarez about this issue.


http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june10/tobacco_05-31.html

Smoking in the Movies Editorial

 After hearing all the hype from my friends, I recently went to see Avatar with high hopes for the 3D experience and futuristic storyline. While the visual effects were entertaining, I was disappointed in the poor example that Sigourney Weaver's character, Dr. Augustine, sets for youth.

Dr. Augustine had the potential to be a role model for young women and teens, but blemishes this image when she smokes a cigarette. Although some of her actions were controversial, Dr. Augustine was portrayed as an independent, strong, and intelligent woman who fought against authority for her values. Instead of empowering young women, her character's choice to smoke contributed to the spread of tobacco related illness and death.

Many people underestimate the influence that smoking in the movies has on youth attitudes towards tobacco. Studies have shown that on-screen smoking is the primary influence on half of all kids who start smoking. This amounts to 390,000 U.S. teens per year that will begin smoking as a result of exposure to tobacco usage in movies. It is concerning to see one of the most profitable youth-rated movies ever produced promote smoking when tobacco is still the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S.

I hope that the money I spent to see Avatar does not contribute to funding new movies containing tobacco industry marketing and causing subsequent public health problems. I encourage Hollywood to consider its influence on youth and envision a healthier future in upcoming films.

Starbucks Snuff Outdoor Smoking

For those who are a fan of caffeine and of Starbucks, in the latest news concerning anti-smoking and creating a better environment for California. Starting Monday (June 7, 2010), the mega-giant coffee chain is banning smoking in their outdoors patio area. This is another step towards achieving the goal of having cleaner breathing air in California!

Online Article-Starbucks Snuffing Outdoor Smoking