Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids News
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Honors Emily Allison of Gardnerville, NV as Youth Advocate of the Year
- Leadership in Fight Against Tobacco Recognized Nationally -
WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Emily Allison, 16, of Gardnerville has been named the West Regional Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for her leadership in the fight against tobacco. Emily is being honored at a gala in the nation's capital on May 20 along with a national winner, international grant winner, three other regional winners and a group winner.
Emily, a junior at Douglas High School, has been involved in tobacco prevention activities since she was in the 7th grade. She has testified at a hearing in favor of a bill making it illegal for minors to possess tobacco or any related products and was recognized on the state Senate floor for her involvement. One of Emily's most recent projects included a Clean Cuisine effort in Nevada, which rewarded local restaurants for being smoke-free by giving them free advertisement online and in newspapers.
Emily's commitment to tobacco prevention is deeply personal as she was never able to meet her grandfather who died of a tobacco-related disease. Today, she works tirelessly to help prevent youth from ever starting this deadly addiction.
More than 400 public health, political, civic and business leaders will attend the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' twelfth annual anniversary gala in Washington, D.C., to recognize these young leaders. The winners will receive educational scholarships and grants to continue their prevention efforts and serve as ambassadors for the Campaign.
"Emily Allison and other young leaders from across the nation are making great strides against youth tobacco addiction and their voices are being heard," said Matthew L. Myers, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids president. "Every day, 1,000 kids in the United States become regular smokers and one-third of them will die prematurely from tobacco-caused disease. Almost 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before the age of 18. Youth are powerful allies in the fight to turn these trends around."
In Nevada, more than 18 percent of high school students smoke, and 3,300 kids become daily smokers every year. Every year, tobacco use kills 3,100 residents and costs the state over $565 million in health care bills. Nationally, tobacco use kills more than 400,000 people and costs the nation more than $96 billion in health care costs each year.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world. By changing public attitudes and public policies on tobacco, the Campaign strives to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
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