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Clarksville Transit System unveils bus wrapped in anti-smoking messages

City of Clarksville, Montgomery County Health Department collaborate on Teen Anti-Tobacco Program

City of Clarksville - Clarksville, TNClarksville, TN – Officials from the City of Clarksville, Clarksville Transit Service and the Montgomery County Health Department joined together at City Hall on Monday to unveil a CTS bus wrapped in several huge anti-smoking messages.

The “rolling billboard” offers slogans and graphics of athletes that are targeted at teen-agers, and make the case that tobacco use is a losing game.

Mayor Kim McMillan, CTS Director Arthur Bing Sr., MCHD Director Joey Smith and members of the MCHD Heath Education Team join in the unveiling of a CTS bus newly wrapped in anti-smoking messages. Funding for the effort comes from the Tennessee Health Department’s allocation of money from a tobacco lawsuit settlement.
Mayor Kim McMillan, CTS Director Arthur Bing Sr., MCHD Director Joey Smith and members of the MCHD Heath Education Team join in the unveiling of a CTS bus newly wrapped in anti-smoking messages. Funding for the effort comes from the Tennessee Health Department’s allocation of money from a tobacco lawsuit settlement.

One side of the bus proclaims, “Don’t Let Tobacco Be In Control: It’s Not Worth the Cost.” On the other side, the large letters say: “Not at the Top of Your Game? Cigarette smoking makes your muscles weak.” On the back, a graphic of a skull and crossbones adds some deadly seriousness to a simple plea of “Be Smart, Don’t Start.”

All sides of the bus display a key contact number – 1.800.QUIT.NOW – which can be used by phone or online to reach the Tennessee Tobacco Quit Line, which offers help for people who want to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. The program, which requires registration, provides personalized support from trained counselors and a three-months supply of anti-smoking patches.

“We’re so proud to work with the State and the Montgomery County Health Departments to bring this anti-smoking message forward in such a big way,” Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan said. “It’s especially important to reach young people, before or just as they are starting to use tobacco, and give them some strong health reasons to avoid taking up the habit.”

CTS, the MCHD Health Education Team, and Signs Now have been working on the bus wrap project for nearly a year, as part of a state-sponsored three-year series of anti-smoking initiatives. The bus-wrap idea was first used in Memphis, and now Clarksville is the second city in the state to have a bus totally wrapped in anti-tobacco messages.

Members of the MCHD Health Education Team join Mayor Kim McMillan and MCHD Director Joey Smith in front of bus graphics that proclaim “Be Smart, Don’t Start.” Creatively, the eyes of the skeleton light up when the bus brakes are engaged.
Members of the MCHD Health Education Team join Mayor Kim McMillan and MCHD Director Joey Smith in front of bus graphics that proclaim “Be Smart, Don’t Start.” Creatively, the eyes of the skeleton light up when the bus brakes are engaged.

“Our mission was to target messages for teens,” said Megan Carroll, part of the MCHD Health Education team that worked on the bus project. “With that age group, you have to focus on sports, active lives and good looks to get their attention, so that’s how we shaped the graphics and wording.”

Ronda Cable supervised the project for Signs Now, the vendor who worked with the team to provide the vinyl signage that appears on the bus.

“I was an honor to work on this with the Health Education Team,” Cable said. “I’m always telling the young people in my family to stay away from tobacco, so this was a chance to get that message out to young people in a big way.”

In 2014, Tennessee was awarded $5 million from a tobacco lawsuit settlement from tobacco companies, and it was agreed that the money would be distributed to counties based on population over three years to promote tobacco prevention.

The state has focused on three primary prevention efforts: to eliminate smoking during pregnancy; to reduce infants and children’s exposure to secondhand smoke; and to prevent child and adolescent tobacco use.

During the first year, MCHD welcomed the Baby and Me Tobacco Free Program, a smoking cessation program created to reduce tobacco use in pregnant and postpartum women. The MCHD program team includes Caitlin Sands, Catina Barger, Donna Parker, Lisa Roberson and Angela Taylor, and currently has 32 active participants. For more online visit: http://www.babyandmetobaccofree.org/

For the second year, MCHD Director Joey Smith and health educators Jennifer Hamilton, Patti Hill and Megan Carroll collaborated with local movie theatres, and Lamar Advertising to place advertising messages to show how the public can reduce infants and children’s exposure to secondhand smoke.

Another major teen-oriented project in Clarksville-Montgomery County came earlier this year when students from Northwest High and Rossview High worked together to present a Smoke-Free Community Initiative resolution, which was approved overwhelmingly by both the Clarksville City Council and the Montgomery County Commission.

One focus of the initiative was designing and placing signs promoting a smoke free environment at City Hall and other city buildings, and at the Public Library and agencies at Veterans Plaza.

“The students and faculty have developed an initiative that will help everyone,” said MCHD Director Smith. “But what makes their initiative so great is that it allows each citizen to be a part of the solution. The community should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

Tobacco Dangers

Here are some good reasons to quit, or never start, tobacco use, provided by the Montgomery County Health Department.

  • Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is nearly one in five deaths.
  • Since 1964, 2.5 million non-smokers have died from health problems caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.
  • Smoking causes more deaths each year than these causes combined: HIV, illegal drug use. alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries and firearm-related incidents.
  • More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States during its history.

When You Quit

  • Quitting smoking cuts cardiovascular risks. One year after quitting smoking, your risk for a heart attack drops sharply.
  • Within 2-5 years after quitting smoking, your risk for stroke could fall to about the same as a nonsmoker’s.
  • Start your journey to being a non-smoker by calling 1.800.QUIT.NOW.
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