HEALTH
YOUNG CRUSADERS
State campaign rallies students in
battle with Big Tobacco
A student advocacy group is fighting fire with fire
against the tobacco industry, a formidable foe
whose former goal was to entice them into a lifetime
of smoking. The corporate plan to promote and
package its products to youth has backfired because a new
generation has seen the results of smoking along with the
rewards of a healthy lifestyle and a campaign to stop the use
of tobacco.
Supported by Tobacco Free Florida and the Florida Department
of Health, the St. Lucie County chapter of Students
Working Against Tobacco represents the best in young people:
conscientious, empathetic and knowledgeable. Open to
students in middle and high school, including homeschoolers,
with chapters in every county, the program rallies young
peers to de-glamorize Big Tobacco through direct action and
education. Youth-led and youth-driven, they are united and
empowered, working toward a tobacco-free future.
DID YOU KNOW?
Tobacco Free Florida, launched in 2007, is funded by the state’s
tobacco settlement fund and is administered through the Florida
Department of Health’s Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida. >>
8 Port St. Lucie Magazine
DEBRA MAGRANN
Brothers Nicolas and Sebastian Suarez were joined by Maddie Chabab and Vanessa Rodriguez in June in a SWAT public awareness partnership with Keep
Port St. Lucie Beautiful. They promoted cigarette litter prevention and tobacco cessation for city employees.
BY DEBRA MAGRANN