Teens Show Support for Smoke-Free Future

Thank State Lawmakers for Passing the 'Freedom To Breathe' Act With Giant

Cake

    ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 100
 Minnesota teens are having their cake and eating it, too, this week.
 Members of Catalyst -- a new group of teens dedicated to adding youth
 voices to public health debates around tobacco issues -- wrap up a
 three-day youth leadership summit at the University of Minnesota, Friday,
 August 17 with a march and rally at the Capitol. After intensive training
 and team building, they will march to the Capitol to thank lawmakers for
 bringing an end to secondhand smoke in the workplace.
     Beginning October 1, Minnesota's bars, restaurants and a host of other
 workplaces that have previously been exempt from the state's Clean Indoor
 Air Act, will become smoke-free; teens are excited for the future.
     "This past year every dollar I earned came as a mixed blessing," says
 Nikki Bunnell. "My waitressing job puts me in direct contact with
 secondhand smoke during my weekend shifts. Even though I don't have the
 right to vote, I wanted our Minnesota's representatives and senators to
 know how thankful I am for giving me a healthier future."
     Like thousands of adults in the Minnesota workplace, the burgeoning
 youth of Minnesota have been forced to balance the need for a job with the
 increased health risks associated with working in an environment filled
 with the dangers from secondhand smoke. According to data provided by the
 Center for Disease Control, nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke
 at home or work increase their heart disease risk by 25-30 percent and
 their lung cancer risk by 20-30 percent(1).
     Teen leaders from across Minnesota presented state legislators with a
 giant cake to show their gratitude. "At Catalyst we are about empowering
 youth to make a difference in the fight against big tobacco," says Andy
 Berndt, Project Director of Catalyst. "Our youth wanted a way to show their
 thanks and support for the courage and hard work that went into passing the
 Freedom To Breathe Act. More importantly the teens want to show their
 passion for the work that lies ahead."
     Catalyst is a statewide youth mobilization program, which is supported
 by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota as part of Prevention Minnesota,
 Blue Cross' long-term health improvement initiative funded by tobacco
 settlement dollars to tackle the root causes of preventable heart disease
 and cancer. Catalyst is open to all high school students across the state
 and will focus on helping youth develop leadership, advocacy and
 communications skills to create change at the community level and beyond.
     The celebratory march begins in Rice Park in downtown St. Paul at 11
 a.m. and ends at the Capitol. Speakers at the rally include legislative
 authors of the bill: Senator Kathy Sheran, Representative Thomas Huntley
 and Representative Dan Severson.
     For more information about Catalyst or the Catalyst summit, please
 contact Andy Berndt at 651-270-6589 or andy@bethecatalyst.org or visit our
 website at http://www.bethecatalyst.org.
     (1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health
 Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the
 Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human
 Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center
 for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
 Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006 [cited 2006 Sep 27].
 Available from:
 http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/report/.
 
 

SOURCE Catalyst