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HOT Conference Heats up Anti-Tobacco Use Campaign
in Eastern Kentucky
By
Katie
Pratt
 PRESTONSBURG,
Ky. (Dec. 5, 2007) – Youth from five eastern Kentucky counties
discovered how to effectively communicate an anti-tobacco
message to their communities during a 4-H Helping Overcome
Tobacco in Kentucky (HOT) Conference at Highlands Regional
Medical Center.
Youth from Johnson, Magoffin, Floyd, Martin and Pike counties
embarked on the campaign, which will be presented to their
schools and communities through a series of posters and public
services announcements. The posters will be displayed in the
counties’ schools, and the announcements will be played on local
radio, television and movie theatres.
Representatives from the University of Kentucky Cooperative
Extension Service, local media outlets and county health
departments educated the teenagers on blocking scenes, voice
projection, writing and filming public service announcements.
“They really feel the need to get out and be spokespeople to
help prevent younger youth from starting tobacco use,” said
Dianna Reed, Johnson County 4-H youth development agent.
“We’re giving it an effort, which is more than what has been
done in the past,” said Damen Hensley, a senior at Sheldon Clark
High School. “We’re getting it started and getting people
thinking about it, and that’s the No. 1 step.”
Reed said 6,800 teens per year start smoking. It is estimated
that 107,000 youths, currently age 18 and under, will eventually
die from a smoke related death.
Tobacco use is a problem across the state. Kentucky ranks No. 1
in the nation for tobacco usage.
“Tobacco is the No. 1 preventable cause of illness in the United
States,” said Connie Meek, tobacco prevention and cessation
specialist with the Johnson County Health Department. “The only
way to stop the tobacco epidemic we’re having is for our youth
not to start. That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish with the
group of students we have here.”
Meek said while the state ranks No. 1, it is making slow
progress. She said in the Big Sandy Region, the cities of
Paintsville and Pikeville have smoke free restaurants and the
city of Prestonsburg just instituted a 100 percent tobacco free
program in their schools.
“I guess it’s kind of like a small child, you have to walk
before you can run,” she said.
The youth that attended the conference had various backgrounds
and talents. Participants were involved in various organizations
including academics, athletics, churches and community groups.
“It’s really an area that affects all youth, and we try to
encourage youth from different areas to become involved so it’s
a face that everybody sees and everybody feels and everybody is
aware of,” Reed said.
The youth all have different reasons for why they chose to
participate in the conference and remain tobacco free.
“I have an uncle that smokes, and I want to try to get him to
quit,” said Nick Bingham, a Prestonsburg High School junior and
treasurer of the Floyd County Teen Council. “I came to this
conference to learn some tactics to try to get him to quit.”
Hensley, who is also the starting quarterback for Sheldon Clark,
said he doesn’t smoke because he doesn’t want to have a negative
effect on younger kids who look up to him.
Geneva Wallen, a representative from the Martin County Health
Department, said she thought the conference opened some of the
youth’s eyes to the negative effects of smoking.
“Kids have a very good attitude about tobacco and they want to
see prevention prevail,” she said. “I think they’re going to be
ready to fight for the cause.”
This was the second year for the conference that was first held
at Pike Central High School. At that conference, teens were
given information on the effects of tobacco which they brought
back to their communities and used as a tool when speaking with
younger students over the past year.
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Contact: Heather Nelson, 606-886-2668
Dianna Reed, 606-789-8108
Joe Maynard, 606-298-7742
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of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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