Southeastern to 'Pack the Stadium' April 3 to promote tobacco-free living
Contact: Rene Abadie
3/26/08
HAMMOND – In connection with national “Kick Butts Week,” organizers at Southeastern Louisiana University are hoping to fill Strawberry Stadium on April 3 with a record number of tobacco-free participants enjoying an outdoor free party.
Called “Pack the Stadium,” the party is scheduled to run from 7 to 9 p.m. and will feature free food, drinks and music by the popular band Bag of Donuts, said Annette Baldwin, counselor with the University Counseling Center, who is helping to coordinate the event..
“This is a free party for those committed to a tobacco-free life,” said Baldwin. “We are trying to fill the stadium with a record number of individuals committed to taking action against tobacco use.”
Baldwin said the event is designed to be fun, with no speeches or formal presentations planned. Anyone over the age of 16 is invited to participate. The party is being sponsored by the Southeastern Division of Student Affairs and the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living.
“This is an opportunity to raise awareness about tobacco, how it harms our health and how the tobacco industry targets youth in their marketing activities,” she said. “We’ll be joining thousands of other young people across the nation who are sponsoring a wide variety of activities designed to call attention to the adverse effects of tobacco use.
“We’re looking to send two important messages through this assembly,” she added. “We want the tobacco industry to stop targeting young people with advertising, and we want elected leaders at all levels to protect them from tobacco. We hope to build a healthier future for children by reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.”
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people every year. According to the Washington, DC-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the national sponsor of the Kick Butts campaign, more than 4,000 young people try their first cigarette every day; another 1,000 become addicted smokers, one-third of whom will die prematurely as a result.
For more information on Pack the Stadium, call 985-549-3894.
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