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Colorado kids say tobacco is nasty. Wednesday, March 18 is Kick Butts Day, a national day of activism in the anti-tobacco campaign with a “for kids, by kids” approach. It’s important when you consider that while 3% of Colorado middle school students use, that percentage jumps to 17% in high school. To get a head start on prevention, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched a new website today called TobaccoIsNasty.com that was specifically created for middle school students. And they went straight to the source in the design and content, using advisory groups made up of students from Denver’s Kepner Middle School and Northglenn’s Hulstrom Options.

Here are some of the glaring facts: In Colorado, 1 in 5 high school students report ever having smoked. Supporting that statistic, recent data show roughly 9 out of 10 adults who smoke start before they’re 18.

CDPHE worked with Colorado middle school students to create an informative site, but in their very own words, where they can learn the facts about tobacco and make the decision early to live a tobacco-free life. Those kids said it was important to show how tobacco use can have some immediate impacts on young people. Joseph Nam, a Hulstrom student said he was surprised to learn that smoke from a cigarette has seven thousand chemicals in it. Tarun Amasa, another Hulstrom student said he doesn’t want tobacco use to get in the way of playing sports and leading a healthy life. And fellow student, Ryan Avram said she better understands the highly addictive nature of tobacco, and that even trying tobacco at an early age can lead to a lifelong addiction.

It’s all there on TobaccoIsNasty.com along with the challenge to other middle schoolers around the state to take part in the Instagram contest. Kids can print out the posters, write down their personal anti-tobacco message, take a selfie holding the sign, and then post it on Instagram with #TobaccoIsNasty and hashtag their school. At the end of March, the school with the most posted pictures will be featured and recognized on the website. If you need more details, you can find it on http://www.Tobaccoisnasty.com and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQzOSLLy9k for the Instagram video.