Let’s go back to school with a positive mindset on living healthy! One thing to encourage your peers and friends is to be tobacco-free. Although statistics shows that tobacco use is gradually decreasing, many are still at risk.

Use some of these tips to support this cause:

• Set yourself or others to be a good role model. It can help change people’s perspective that tobacco usage is not cool or good for your body.
• Say no to tobacco! Don’t let peer pressure get to you or to your friends! Only do what you want to and not what others say to you.
• Quitting it sooner is better than never! If you are currently using tobacco or know someone who is, try to convince yourself/them to stop. Extensive research has show that by using tobacco it can cause diseases like lung cancer, breathing problems, stroke, and more.

Here are some quick facts to help you learn more about being tobacco:

• From 2011 to 2014, current cigarette smoking declined among middle and high school students.^4,5
• Nearly 3 of every 100 middle school students (2.5%) reported in 2014 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 4.3% in 2011.
• In 2014, more than 12 of every 100 high school students (12.7%) and approximately 3 of every 100 middle school students (3.1%) reported use of two or more tobacco products in the past 30 days.⁴
• In 2014, nearly 25 of every 100 high school students (24.6%) and nearly 8 of every 100 middle school students (7.7%) used some type of tobacco product.⁴

Credits to www.cdc.gov