As the BU programmatic season kicked off in November 2020, we began by participating in one of our awareness days – the Great American Smokeout Campaign. This year’s Great American Smokeout Campaign was challenging due to COVID-19. Last year, our Youth Leaders were creative on how to educate their peers on general tobacco issues and the laws relating to them and local retailers. Our Youth Leaders held school rallies, orchestrated balloon releases, and gathered over 2,000 pledge cards from their peers stating that they will not use tobacco. This year, most of our schools were virtual which means they held classes online via Google Meet and Zoom. Some schools were on a hybrid schedule which means the students were divided into alternated, traditional and virtual learning environments. Only a few of our schools were traditional. The Youth Leaders recorded the Great American Smokeout Campaign sessions to accommodate each school’s schedule. Students signed pledge cards in person or virtually. As of December 15, 2020, there were over 2,000 signatures pledging to be tobacco-free. Our Youth Leaders led this effort and were excited about the outcome. To view the videos, please visit our YouTube Channel: BU Youth Tobacco & Vaping Prevention.
Great American Smokeout Update
