Alexandra Noto Writing for the Web MC 4001

Support a Smoke-Free LSU

Fresh Campus/ SmokingWords Awarded $250 to Celebrate Kick Butts Day LSU joins over 1,000 schools and communities across the United States in the fight to a smoke-free campus with its 2014 Kick Butts Day event. Tobacco-Free Kids has awarded the Fresh Campus/ SmokingWords student organization $500 to support Kick Butts Day activities. Special guest, Ritney A. Castine, Associate Director, Youth Advocacy for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, will be in attendance. A Kick Butts Day event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on March 19 in the Journalism Building patio (on the LSU campus) or in the Holliday Forum in case of rain. The event will include a tailgating event featuring food catered by Walk-Ons for the LSU vs. South Alabama baseball game at Alex Box Stadium. Additionally, Fresh Campus/SmokingWords will have an informational table with giveaways and information about Act 211 and LSUs progress toward establishing a campus tobacco policy from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 19 in Free Speech Plaza. Derick Bercegeay, acting president of Fresh Campus/ SmokingWords, said What could be better than celebrating LSUs progress toward becoming a smoke-free campus with free food from Walk-Ons? We thank Tobacco-Free Kids for supporting Fresh Campus efforts. The event will gain awareness of Fresh Campus/SmokingWords and the new smoke-free policy that LSU is adopting. This partnership with Tobacco-Free Kids will celebrate Kick Butts Day and LSUs progress toward becoming a smoke-free campus. LSU Fresh Campus is tied to the state Fresh Campus program in its effort to reduce tobacco use on LSUs campus. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world. Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against tobacco. The partnership between these two organizations will benefit the LSU community and work toward a healthier campus. Why should LSU become tobacco free? More than 90 percent of smokers begin before the age of 26, and 50 percent of those who smoke as adolescents will continue smoking for at least 16 to 20 years. Tobacco use is a no-win situation for everyone. According to SmokingWords research, almost 30 percent of our undergraduates are now smokers and an increasing number are arriving as non-smokers and then start using tobacco products

during their freshman year. Yet, 25 percent of undergraduate students report they are adversely affected by exposure to secondhand-smoke and many avoid Middleton Library and the Student Union because of the large amount of secondhand smoke near the entrances to these important locations.