Summer fun is right around the corner. With Minnesota teens smoking more than ever before, now is the time to make sure parents and other adults realize how bad the problem is. To help create awareness about underage smoking, the Minnesota Department of Health, the American Cancer Society, and local partners around the state have launched a new billboard campaign. Two different kinds of billboards are displayed in 170 locations across the state. The bill boards were originally developed in Massachusetts and made available by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tobacco is the drug that kids are most likely to use.
And while many parents think it is less harmful than other drugs, they don't realize that cigarettes cause more deaths than AIDS, alcohol, car crashes, fires, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Fortunately, there are steps that adults can take to help reduce tobacco use by young people. For example, parents can talk to their children about the dangers of tobacco. If parents smoke, they can set an example by quitting or at least not smoking in front of their children. In addition, adults who smoke can make sure they keep their tobacco out of the reach of children.