La Paz County, AZ- On March 18th, students from La Paz County will take a STAND against tobacco use at the Arizona State Capitol. Students Taking a New Direction (STAND) is organizing their first legislative day on March 18th. More than 250 students from 25 local youth chapters will gather at the State Capitol to showcase their efforts to pass local legislation that promotes smoke free environments.

“We are seeing a downward trend in tobacco use. Right now, 14% of kids under 18 use tobacco. That’s a 30 percent drop in four years,” explained Teen Solutions, the La Paz County chapter of STAND. Recent news of CVS’s decision to stop carrying tobacco products on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Surgeon General’s report is inspiring hope that tobacco use will soon be a memory. “While we are making great strides, we are still picking up a lot of cigarette butts in our parks.  We have a lot of work to do.”

During the legislative day event, students will meet with their district senators and representatives to discuss local tobacco issues. STAND members will discuss tobacco issues and how each local chapter is working to improve the health and wellness of their local cities and towns. The program will run from 11am to 1pm with a formal presentation beginning at noon on the Senate Lawn with a special guest speaker: former Cardinal football player, Ron Wolfley.

STAND is partnering with the Arizona Attorney General’s Counter Strike Program, Arizonans Concerned about Smoking, The Arizona Chapters of the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network to highlight that tobacco use is still an issue. 

“Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in Arizona,” said La Paz County Teen Solutions.  “It’s not just lung cancer but heart disease, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and it can worsen existing health problems.” 

The STAND Legislative Day is open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18th, at the Arizona State Capitol, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix AZ 85007.

STAND is a statewide coalition of students ages 13-18 who work to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and to urge elected officials at all levels of government to treat cigarettes as hazardous materials by creating regulations for forage, transport, sale and disposal. For more information visit www.standaz.com.

La Paz County, AZ- The Great American Smokeout is a day when smokers are encouraged to quit for a day, quit for life. This year members of Arizona’s statewide anti-tobacco youth coalition Students Taking a New Direction, better known as STAND, will take that one step further urging Arizonans to ‘decide today for life-long-strong lungs.’

In partnership with the American Lung Association (ALA), STAND will be holding events throughout Arizona not only promoting the health impact of living and working in a smoke free environment. STAND members are partnering with members of the ALA’s Better Breather’s club to provide interactive demonstrations on how smoking can affect your lungs.

“When it comes to smoking and the health effects, it is usually cancer related problems that you hear about,” said Lee Ann Anderson of the La Paz County Health Department’s Public Health Education and Prevention Program. “We want to also remind people that smoking affects your lungs too. But not just your lungs, it affects those around you too.”

STAND members will also be showcasing their efforts to make their community smoke free by passing out quit kits at an informational booth at Blue Water Resort and Casino from 9:00am-2:00pm, and the Teen Solutions Coalition will be promoting tobacco prevention at Wallace Junior High from 12:00-1:30pm.

Community prep will also occur as coalitions across the state will display pledge walls in high traffic areas for smokers and non-smokers alike to either pledge to quit for the day or to never start. To further promote and draw attention to their cause, STAND members will change their personal and coalition Facebook profile photo to a singular image.

Participants are members of STAND, Students Taking a New Direction, a statewide coalition of students ages 13-18 who work to not only raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, but urge elected officials at all levels of government to treat cigarettes as hazardous materials - including creating regulations for storage, transport, sale and disposal. www.standaz.com

The Great American Smokeout is organized nationally by the American Cancer Society. It is held the on the third Thursday of November each year. In Arizona, it is supported by the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Tobacco & Chronic Disease. The first Great American Smokeout was held in 1977. www.cancer.org/smokeout