DEAR Advocate, On behalf of the Arkansas Department of Health s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program and Arkansas Children s Hospital, the Project Prevent Youth Coalition (PPYC) is excited to announce Ready. Set. Record. For 15 years, students have used video, acting and editing skills to demonstrate their ability to effectively and creatively advocate for a life-saving tobacco prevention policy, and you can make a difference too! This year s theme is: Youth Led. Fact Fed. Students wishing to participate in Ready. Set. Record. can do so by creating a 30-second video. The video must be about being tobacco free. It can be about living tobacco free and encouraging others to do so or can advocate for a tobacco-free related community policy like making Arkansas s Clean Indoor Air Act comprehensive. Students will compete for First, Second or Third Places in the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced categories. Winning videos must incorporate Project Prevent into their work, meet all the rules, and include a tag at the end for PPYC. Recipients of First, Second or Third Place will receive a monetary award for each team member. Additionally, the schools they represent will receive a monetary award to purchase media equipment or supplies. Students with winning entries will receive their cash and prizes at the PPYC Ready. Set. Record. Awards Show on February 20, 2019. Additional awards will be given for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Editing, Rookie of the Year (for first-time participating schools), Best Use of Special Effects and Best Behind the Scenes Use of Social Media. Please encourage your students to post pictures and messages on social media using the hashtags #ProjectPrevent, #YouthLedFactFed and #ReadySetRecord2018, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on the latest announcements. Overview Entries for the event will be accepted September 10, 2018, through January 4, 2019, and must be submitted electronically at SOSProjectPrevent.com/ReadySetRecord. Sincerely, Laura Taylor Outreach Specialist Tobacco Prevention Community Outreach Arkansas Children s Hospital
PRIZES: 30-Second VIDEOS BEGINNER 1st Place Teacher: $250 School: $1,000 Student: $75 2nd place School: $500 Student: $50 3rd place School: $250 Student: $25 INTERMEDIATE 1st place Teacher: $250 School: $1,000 Student: $75 2nd place School: $500 Student: $50 3rd place School: $250 Student: $25 ADVANCED 1st place Teacher: $250 School: $1,000 Student: $75 2nd place School: $500 Student: $50 3rd place School: $250 Student: $25 BeST ACTOR $25 BeST ACTRESS $25 BeST Editing $25 Rookie of the Year $25 BeST Use of Special Effects $25 BeST behind the scenes use of social media $25 prizes
Rules: Video Entries 1. Participants must be in grades 8-12. 2. Ready. Set. Record. is a Project Prevent Youth Coalition (PPYC) activity. All participants are encouraged to join PPYC to stay up-to-date on Project activities such as Ready. Set. Record. 3. Videos must be created and produced by a team of six or fewer students. 4. Each team must determine a division in which to enter their video: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. Beginners are defined as students who are submitting videos for the first time. Intermediate entries are students who are submitting a video for the second year in a row. Advanced entries are students who are submitting a video for the third or fourth year in a row. 5. All videos must be 30-seconds total in length and include a three-second tag at the end for Project Prevent Youth Coalition. Please make sure your video is the correct length of time. For example, a 45-second video will be disqualified because the rules limit videos to 30 seconds. Learn more at SOSProjectPrevent.com. 6. No professional production or post-production assistance is allowed. 7. Any video that portrays overt violence, vandalism, appearance or use of any tobacco/nicotine products, including smokeless tobacco, a real cigarette or e-cigarette, or any illicit activity, will be disqualified. NEVER use a real tobacco product or its container (empty pack of cigarettes, dip can, etc.). We never want these products in the hands of our youth in any way! 8. Please pay close attention to the contest rules, especially the wording that asks for a specific call to action for tobacco policies or tobacco prevention and education. If you use statistics, please make sure they are up-to-date. We ve provided a list of trusted websites from which you can obtain more information and additional resources. 9. All entries must be submitted electronically by Friday, January 4, 2019. 10. A third-party judge will review submissions based on the following criteria: creativity, effectiveness/accuracy of message, ethics and quality of talent. 11. Project finalists will be announced during the PPYC Statewide meeting on Friday, January 18, 2019. rules 12. Qualifying entries will receive an invitation to the Project Prevent Ready. Set. Record. Awards Show to be held Wednesday, February 20, 2019.
The Clean Indoor Air Act The facts and the dangers of Secondhand Smoke Secondhand smoke (SHS) is actually a mixture of two forms of smoke: Mainstream smoke: The smoke exhaled by a smoker or vaper. The Clean Indoor Air act Sidestream smoke: Smoke from the lit end of a cigarette, pipe, cigar or hookah. This type of smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) and is more toxic than mainstream smoke. It also has smaller particles than mainstream smoke, and they make their way into the lungs and the body s cells more easily. Secondhand smoke contains the same harmful chemicals that smokers inhale. THERE S NO SAFE LEVEL OF EXPOSURE TO SECONDHAND SMOKE. By affecting the heart and blood vessels, secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart attack and stroke in non-smokers. Some studies have linked secondhand smoke to mental and emotional changes as well as symptoms of depression. Secondhand smoke is known to cause cancer. More than 53,000 people in the United States die every year from secondhand smoke exposure. Young children are most affected by secondhand smoke and the least able to avoid it. Most of their exposure comes from parents or other adults smoking in the home. Studies show that children whose parents smoke get sick more often, have more lung infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, are more likely to cough, wheeze and have shortness of breath, and are more likely to get ear infections. Secondhand smoke can also trigger asthma attacks, make asthma symptoms worse and even cause new cases of asthma in children who didn t have symptoms before. Continued on the other side.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified secondhand smoke as a class A carcinogen, the most toxic class of chemicals that are known to cause cancer. The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke is to prohibit all smoking in indoor spaces and buildings. In July 2006, Arkansas passed the Clean Indoor Air Act. The Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act prohibited smoking in workplaces and public places, but it allowed exemptions for establishments that choose to serve people 21 and older. Bartenders, wait staff and musicians who work in smoking establishments suffer the health consequences of secondhand smoke at a fifty percent higher rate than other occupations. The scientific evidence is clear: Secondhand smoke is a proven cause of serious diseases and premature death. That s why people across the United States and around the world are speaking up for their right to breathe clean, smoke-free air. And it s why a growing number of cities, states and countries are enacting laws that require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY MAKING A READY.SET.RECORD. VIDEO.
Living Tobacco-Free Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. if smoking continues at the current rate, 5.6 million children alive today will die prematurely of tobacco-related illness. Most smokers first tried smoking before the age of 18. In 2017, about 3.6 Million U.S. middle and high school students were using tobacco products, and about half were using two or more products. Living tobacco-free reduces a person s risk of developing heart disease, various cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, periodontal disease, asthma, and other diseases and of dying prematurely. Tobacco-free living means avoiding use of all types of tobacco products such as cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes, and hookahs and also living free from secondhand-smoke exposure. Living Tobacco-free Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are increasing in popularity among youth. The look of e-cigarettes is changing, with some looking like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, and some looking like USB flash drives, pens and other everyday items. While the appearance of e-cigs continues to evolve, the aerosol they deliver remains harmful. E-cigs deliver nicotine, often in extremely high doses. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. This aerosol also contains flavorings that can contain diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease, as well as other harmful ingredients. Youth and young adults are more vulnerable to social and environmental influences to use tobacco. The tobacco industry spends $26 million per day marketing their products often using advertising and promotion that show tobacco use as a normal activity among young people. E-cigarette companies also use marketing tactics to target youth through paid promotion on social media, sponsorship of music festivals and events, and the promotion of flavorings like cotton candy and gummy bear. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY MAKING A VIDEO ENCOURAGING YOUTH TO LIVE TOBACCO-FREE.
Additional Resources on Clean Indoor Air/ Secondhand Smoke CleartheAirArkansas.com Healthy.Arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/clean-indoor-air-act CDC.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm Cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/secondhand-smoke.html ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON PREVENTION/ LIVING TOBACCO-FREE SurgeonGeneral.gov/priorities/prevention/strategy/tobaccofree.pdf CDC.gov/tobacco/basic_information/youth/index.htm TruthInitiative.org Resources