March 21 marks Kick Butts Day, a national day empowering youth to be activists by standing up and speaking out against Big Tobacco companies. This national anti-tobacco holiday provides an opportunity for Bismarck’s youth to educate their peers and community leaders on the toll that tobacco has on them.
Despite promising to stop marketing to youth in the 1998 tobacco settlement, tobacco companies continue to find new ways to recruit new customers. In North Dakota, 300 kids will become new daily smokers each year. According to the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 12.6% of ND high school students smoke cigarettes.
One way that communities can prevent youth from becoming smokers is by raising the tax on tobacco products. North Dakota is the 48th state with a tobacco tax of only $0.44. The tax has not been raised since 1993. By increasing the price of tobacco by $1.50, we can prevent 5,200 youth under 18 from becoming adult smokers.
“Raising tobacco taxes is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among youth” said Jordyn Schaefbauer, Tobacco Prevention Specialist with Bismarck Burleigh Public Health.
With the current tax rate in place, fourteen thousand kids now under the age of 18 in North Dakota will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. We need to keep youth from the hands of Big Tobacco companies, and by raising the tax on tobacco products we can do just that.
Schools participating in Kick Butts Day: Horizon Middle School, Legacy High School, and Century High School.
For help with quitting tobacco, visithttps://ndquits.health.nd.gov/.