Wednesday, March 20, 2013 is Kick Butts Day – a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco.

The tobacco industry spends $1.2 million every day across New York City and State marketing their deadly product. The more tobacco marketing kids see, the more likely they are to smoke. In fact, 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before age 18. In Manhattan alone, 4,000 public high school students smoke cigarettes; one-third will die prematurely as a direct result of smoking if they continue.

The Manhattan Smoke-Free Partnership’s Kick Butts Day youth event will take place on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 4:30pm, Harlem State Building Plaza, 163 West 125th Street. For more details, go to www.smokefreeny.org.

Need Help Quitting? From March 5-21, 2013, smokers who call the NYS Smoker’s Quitline will get extra resources, along with nicotine replacement therapy, to help them quit. Call 1-866-697-8487 or 311, or enroll online at www.nycquits.org.