SAFE Glen Cove Coalition: National Kick Butts Day

Standing up for what you believe in can be truly exhilarating, powerful and courageous. For 26 years, the United States activists for Take Down Tobacco Day, also known as Kick Butts Day has continued to use their efforts of “empowering individuals to stand up and speak out against the tobacco industry.”

On April 1st National Kick Butts Day marked the start to kicking cigarette butts to the curb and beginning the process in ending tobacco use throughout the United States. On Wednesday, April 7th 2021, SAFE’s social worker Francesca Carbone collaborated with the Glen Cove Youth Bureau in promoting this event to the LifeSkills After 3 Program. During the program Ms. Carbone presented a power point to the students on the event and provided virtual activities for the students to participate in. The students also created posters to aid in promoting the awareness of National Kick Butts Day, along with encouraging the effort to stop smoking. Their posters will be displayed on SAFE’s website and the Glen Cove Youth Bureau’s Facebook Page.

Ms. Carbone’s presentation also consisted of a promotional educational video narrated by Carol Meschkow, Program Manager of the Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island. In the video, Ms. Meschkow highlighted a variety of facts and statistics regarding the issues within the big tobacco industries. She encourages the youth to utilize their various educational venues to learn about the disheartening tactics that these companies do to lure children into buying their products, as well as profiting off of adult’s addictions -regardless of the known issues smoking causes.

As this event continues to thrive all across America, the decline in cigarette smoking has provided hope to continue the efforts to have a decline among the younger generation’s use with electronic cigarettes and vaping cigarettes.

To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please visit: http://www.safeglencove.org/ and follow us www.facebook.com/safeglencovecoalition.