Tobacco Free Coalition of Winnebago County

“Promoting Benefits of Tobacco Free Living”.

Our goal as a tobacco free coalition is:
To provide education and support to individuals who choose to live smoke free.

Facts to consider:
If a person smokes a pack of cigarettes a day at the price of $6.00 per pack in a year they will have spent $2,190.00. That money could have gone towards:

• That money could go towards purchasing groceries.
• Gasoline.
• Pay for a semester of a college education for your child
• Down payment for a car.
• A nice Family Vacation.

To make a complaint of a smoke free air act violation:
Please Call: 1-888-944-2247
Or go to
www.IowaSmokefreeAir.gov

Ready, Willing and Able!
Help is Here!!

• Freedom from smoking classes available through Winnebago County Public Health: Please call : 641-585-4763 or 1-800-749-6235 for more information.

It's free. It's simple. It works. What are you waiting for?

Just Eliminate Lies ( JEL)

When the Iowa Legislature created the Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control, they stressed the importance of youth involvement in reducing tobacco use among young people in Iowa. JEL, Iowa's youth-led anti-tobacco program gives Iowa teens the true, unfiltered facts about the tobacco industry's marketing efforts. JEL coordinates activities to fight the tobacco industry's efforts to manipulate teens into using tobacco products.

JEL provides peer-to-peer education to youth across the state, promotes leadership at the local level, and implements events and activities across the state to engage youth in the fight against tobacco. The goals of JEL are to change the general social attitude towards tobacco use, raise awareness through education, create effective counter-marketing, protect the rights of all Iowans from secondhand smoke, and support cessation among the young tobacco user so they quit and encourage youth to never begin using tobacco.

JEL has grown to be one of the most powerful youth led organizations, having over 7,000 members and a JEL summit with over 500 youth in attendance.

To find out more about JEL and how you can get involved visit the JEL web site at www.jeliowa.org for information.

Teens Against Tobacco Use (T.A.T.U.)

Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) is a program that allows students ages 14-17 to mentor youngsters about the dangers of smoking. Research indicates that teens enjoy opportunities to positively influence their younger counterparts. Consequently, this mentoring also serves to reinforce their decisions to remain smoke-free. Evidence suggests that peer-led programs such as TATU are more effective in reducing tobacco use among youth.

The Need for Tobacco Education:

Tobacco use begins at an early age. Almost 90 percent of all smokers begin before the age of 18.
Everyday more than 4,000 kids try their first cigarette; and each day more than 2,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. That's more than 750,000 new underage daily smokers each year.

The tobacco industry concentrates its marketing efforts on our nation's children. They recognize that new smokers must continually be recruited to replace the nearly half-million who die annually of tobacco-related illnesses.

Effective Solutions:

The TATU program transforms teens from consumers to consumer advocates. They learn to recognize the tobacco industry's efforts to target them as the next generation of smokers.
Teens learn the vital role they will play in education children on the dangers of smoking
Empowered with this new knowledge, the teens take their anti-smoking message to schools throughout their community.

TATU teens have been involved in advocacy issues in their own communities, which have broadened their roles as youth leaders and role models.

In elementary and middle schools, high school youth presentations are a refreshing departure from the traditional lessons taught by adults.

Kids, here are some great games you can play! Go to:

www.smokefreekids.info

www.thetruth.com/games

 

Back to top