The Iowa Department of Public Health today unveiled plans for its campaign to reduce smoking among kids. The Director of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Division, Cathy Calloway, says the campaign is called “Just Eliminate Lies.” Calloway says young people are tired of the big tobacco companies “lies” about the effects of tobacco. Calloway says the ideas for the campaign came in a summit of 133 kids last summer.Calloway says a survey showing that nearly one-in-four high school and one-in-twelve middle school students smoke, is evidence of the power of tobacco company advertising. She says the kids will develop the messages for a campaign to counter tobacco ads.The youth effort is funded by 10-million dollars from the State of Iowa’s Billion-dollar settlement with the large tobacco companies.
