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Students battle tobacco with grand-prize winning billboard designs
Surprise announcements made at teens' schools

Two creative Sacramento area teens were surprised to learn that anti-tobacco messages they created will soon appear on dozens of billboards across the Greater Sacramento area.

Kenya Bravo, a senior from Sheldon High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and Summer Elliot, an 8th grader from Andrew Carnegie Middle School in Orangevale are the grand-prize middle and high school winners of Kaiser Permanente’s 14th annual “Don’t Buy the Lie” billboard design contest. They were among more than 7,000 students from nearly 80 schools who competed in the free annual program, which is aimed at preventing teen smoking.

Rick Baker, MD, Kaiser Permanente’s Chief of Health Education, Sacramento/Roseville, made the surprise announcement to the top high school winner on April 27 at Sheldon High School, presenting Bravo with a $1,000 savings bond. Dr. Baker made a similar surprise announcement to Elliot at Andrew Carnegie Middle School on April 25.

“Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, causing heart and lung diseases, cancers, and strokes," said Dr. Baker. "If we can help prevent young people from using tobacco products early on, we have a good chance of keeping them tobacco-free throughout their lifetimes and helping them to live healthier lives."

The two winning entries were first selected as finalists from their respective schools and then later chosen during a separate judging competition that included finalist entries from other participating schools. Dozens of judges from Kaiser Permanente and a broad spectrum of community organizations selected the top winners.

Bravo’s design includes an image of a twisted pile of cigarette butts in an ashtray, with the wording "The Unfiltered Truth: Smoking Stinks.” Elliot’s winning entry shows a series of playing cards titled with smoking related diseases, such as “bronchitis” and “stroke," accompanied by the words “Smoking: Not a Winning Hand.”

Middle and high schools in Sacramento, Placer and Yolo counties participated in this year's anti-tobacco billboard design contest. Both winning ad concepts were provided to a professional graphic designer to complete for billboard display. The winning designs will appear on more than 30 outdoor billboards.

Runners-up from each participating school will receive a $50 savings bond and, along with Bravo and Elliot, will be honored at a special reception at the state Capitol in May.

In addition to the billboard contest, Kaiser Permanente's “Don’t Buy the Lie” program also provides local schools with health education materials and workshops aimed at preventing youth tobacco use.

According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly 23 percent of high school students in the U.S. are current cigarette smokers, and approximately 10 percent of middle school students are smokers. Each day, nearly 4,400 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 years initiate cigarette smoking in the country. Studies also show that young people who do not start using tobacco by age 18 will most likely never start.

A telephone survey of 125 past Don't Buy the Lie program participants, ranging in ages of 14 to 20, showed that 98 percent are non-smokers today. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed specifically cited the Don't Buy the Lie program as having an impact on their decision not to smoke.

The Don't Buy the Lie program is co-sponsored by Sacramento County Department of Health and
Human Services.

Kaiser Permanente is the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care organization and serves more than 652,000 members in Greater Sacramento. More than 11,100 employees and more than 1,100 physicians provide medical care and service to Greater Sacramento members.