Cornerstone Elementary celebrated National Take Down Tobacco Day Tuesday as students committed to live a nicotine-free lifestyle.
Putnam County Health Educator Liz Rooks said the commitment gives students the chance to take a stand against tobacco companies and nicotine addiction. Rooks said it was great seeing so many young students make the promise.
“Their developing mind is so fragile and introducing nicotine into a young brain can set them up for a lifetime of substance misuse and addiction,” Rooks said. “So we want them to know that they need to stay away from this and keep these chemicals out of their bodies and save their brain so they can preserve their bright beautiful futures.”
Putnam County Public Health Educator Hannah Cross said students wrote their names on small pieces of paper and linked them together to form a chain of commitment. Cross said that the chain will remind students to stay away from nicotine.
Rooks said youth nicotine addiction is not only a big problem in Putnam County but also nationwide due to tobacco companies using deceptive advertising that targets kids.
“We thought that would be a great visual to see,” Rooks said. “They can hang it in the hallway and see it as a daily reminder of their commitment to be nicotine-free.”
The celebration also featured several Putnam County leaders like County Mayor Randy Porter and Baxter Mayor Danny Holmes who spoke to kids about how important it is to live nicotine-free. Rooks said the celebration was the first time the health department was able to celebrate National Take Down Tobacco Day with a school in the Putnam County School System.
“Cornerstone is second through fourth-grade school and so they were a great first try for us,” Rooks said. “We are so excited to have these students. They are so energetic, their administration and staff have been so supportive of this effort and we are just glad that they were our launch school in Putnam County for this event.”
Rooks said the health department hopes to celebrate with other Putnam County schools in the future to spread awareness. Cross said the goal of celebrating National Take Down Tobacco Day is to spread awareness among young students so that when they get older they will be able to say no to products especially as they get older when they face tobacco products more often.
