NEWS RELEASE

                        Rolette County Public Health

                        Phone: 701-477-5646

                        E-mail:  mleas@state.nd.us

Rolette County Public Health Organizes Super Heroes to Celebrate Kick Butts Day

Rolette County, N.D. – On April 3^rd and 5^th, Belcourt, Dunseith, Ojibwa, Rolette, Rolla, St. Anne’s and St. John’s 3^rd graders will join the “No Puff Pals” to stamp out tobacco use. The Kick Butts Day campaign empowers young people across the country to stand out, speak up and seize control in spreading the message about the dangers of tobacco use.

Rolette County Public Health will be visiting each of the schools and presenting “No Puff Pals vs. Big Tobacco, Inc.”.  The children will learn that everyone has “No Puff Power” – all you have to do is say “No”!!  The program will also include keeping tobacco sacred and use of tobacco in a traditional American Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.

 “In North Dakota, 22 percent of high school students smoke and 11 percent use spit tobacco,” said Margaret Leas, RN of Rolette County Public Health. “Kick Butts Day is all about youth taking control of trying to reduce those statistics. The “No Puff Pals” program is focused on helping the younger child understand the dangers of tobacco.

April 5, 2006, marks the 11th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based group striving to build a healthier future for our children by reducing their use of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke.

For more information about the Kick Butts Day campaign, contact Margaret Leas, RN at 701-477-5646 or mleas@state.nd.us .  Visit our website at www.rcphd.com .