'Kick Butts Week' April 10-14

Utah State University’s Student Health and Wellness Center presents national “Kick Butts Week” April 10-14 to build campus awareness of the dangers of tobacco use and second-hand smoke.

National spokesman Rick Bender, former member of the California Angels baseball team, is featured speaker for the week’s observance. A former tobacco user who lost part of his jaw to cancer, Bender, known as ‘The Man Without a Face,’ tours the country with his message about the dangers of tobacco.

 

Bender speaks Monday, April 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the Stevenson Ballroom of the Taggart Student Center. His talk is free and open to the public. At the talk, wellness center staff will host a booth with literature and information about local resources available to assist smokers and tobacco users in kicking the habit.

 

“We hold Kick Butts Week each year to educate students, faculty and staff about the ill effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke and the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act,” says Jana Carling, USU prevention education specialist.

 

Implemented in 1995, the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act forbids smokers from lighting up within 25 feet of an open window, entrance or air-intake vent of public buildings. USU’s efforts in enforcing the act on campus were recently lauded by the Utah Department of Health, which presented Utah State with a bronze level Healthy Campus Award in 2005.

 

USU was the only higher ed campus in the state to receive an award during the past year.

 

“We’ll have bright orange flags around campus during ‘Kick Butts Week’ to remind everyone about the smoke-free zones,” says Carling.

 

She notes that amendments made to the Utah Indoor Clean Act during the most recent Utah legislative session expand smoking restrictions in both public and private venues.

 

For more information about Kick Butts Week or smoking cessation resources, contact the center at 435-797-1010.