Doyle Launches Statewide
Anti-Smoking Campaign
Governor Jim Doyle has joined youth involved in anti-tobacco organizations to launch a new statewide anti-smoking campaign as part of his Healthy Kids Initiatives. The campaign will  run until mid-December and is aimed at preventing Wisconsin teenagers from starting to smoke and helping current smokers quit.
"Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and disease in Wisconsin and the nation," Governor Doyle said. "This campaign is designed to provide facts to our children and to promote youth leadership so that Wisconsin children can make informed decisions about tobacco use."
Governor Doyle said that Wisconsin middle and high school youth are smoking less than they did a few years ago, but there are still too many young people who do smoke, or are exposed to smokers on a daily basis:
* In 2003, 42% of middle school students lived with someone who smokes cigarettes.
* In 2001, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 40 percent of Wisconsin high school students reported using tobacco (which includes cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, and other tobacco products), compared to 34 percent nationally.
"The launch of this anti-tobacco campaign in Wisconsin is part of a comprehensive effort to build on our successes, prevent young people from starting, and help current smokers quit," Governor Doyle said.
He noted examples of recent successes:
* According to the Youth Tobacco Survey, since 2000, middle school smoking has decreased from 12.2 percent to 6.6 percent in 2003 - a 46 percent decrease.
* Current smoking among high school students has also decreased, from 38 percent in 1999 to 27 percent in 2002.
* Tobacco sales to minors in Wisconsin have decreased from 34 percent of retailers in 2001 to 18.5 percent in 2003.
"We know what works," Governor Doyle said. "Aggressive media works, and youth prevention works. I am committed to fighting smoking and preventing tobacco-related disease and death, and this campaign is just one way we can help Wisconsin youth make informed, healthy choices."
Between now and the end of the year, the state will spend $400,000 on these and other anti-tobacco ads. The American Legacy Foundation will match the state's contribution one-to-one, making another $400,000 available to support our efforts.
"By leveraging funds from the American Legacy Foundation, we are not only preventing future health care costs and lost lives, but we are maximizing taxpayer dollars in doing it," Governor Doyle said. "This sort of public-private partnership is a sign of my commitment to finding innovative and effective ways to improve the health of everyone in Wisconsin."
Governor Doyle was joined by Kenneth Munson, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Services, youth representatives from the B-Free From Tobacco program in Chippewa Falls, and youth representatives from the Fight Against Corporate Tobacco (FACT) program in Milwaukee, Stoughton, and Wausau.
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