ThreeSixty reporter Ariel Kendall interviewed Andy Berndt, program director of Catalyst — a Minnesota program that encourages teens to become activists in the fight against tobacco. Here’s an excerpt from their e-mail interview and a link to Catalyst’s Web site
How are tobacco companies targeting teens today?
A few different ways that the tobacco industry is currently targeting teens
today is Camel No. 9 cigarettes, the Camel “Farm Tour” a music tour around
the country, and flavored cigarettes. Camel’s new No.9 cigarettes are
targeted at woman and the LGBT community and in my opinion are geared towards
young smokers to get them hooked early.
Camel actually cancelled their “Farm Tour” after the media and public health
community criticized it as targeting teens. Here’s more info
-fire-for-indie-rock-ad
Finally, when you think about flavored cigarettes, who would smoke those,
and why would they make them. In my opinion they are made to lure young
smokers and make their first smoking experience less unpleasant.
**What does Catalyst do to increase awareness and discourage teens from
smoking?**
We work to increase awareness of the tobacco industry in a variety of ways,
first our presentation Tobacco Underground has been given to hundreds of
students all across the state, in classrooms, assemblys, community meetings,
etc. You can see the presentation here
resentation
Second, our Killer Quotes Tour was an example of Catalyst operating like a
true movement. We worked with Catalyst members from around the state to plan
events in their area to promote Catalyst and our message. We traveled to 8
different cities across MN for bowling events, paintball tournaments, even
concerts to meet people, screen print posters, and talk to people about the
tobacco industry. We were using quotes from the tobacco industry to educate
people about what the tobacco industry really thinks about them.
Third, our yearly summit, where we pull together all the Catalyst members
from across the state and get together for an intensive 3 days of learning,
fun, and activism. Check out the info for this year’s summit, and the pics
from last year
**How much money is spent in Minnesota on tobacco prevention for teens? How
much more did it used to be?**
Total spent by Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Minnesota Department of
Health is under $1 million. Target Market’s budget was in the ballpark of $6
million a year.
Can teens still apply for the summit in June?
They certainly can.
If a teen wants to quit smoking, where can they go for help?
**If you have a friend or sibling who smokes and you’re worried about their
health, what should you do?**
Encourage them to quit.
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