LOCAL TEENS ADVOCATE FOR TOBACCO-FREE PARKS

Monforton Middle School’s Leadership Class understands the environmental, social, and health complications caused by tobacco use, and want to create a healthier community by advocating for a tobacco-free parks policy.  Not only would tobacco-free parks protect the environment, they would encourage healthy choices among youth, and support those who have made the difficult decision to quit.

 “We will change the parks so our friends aren’t influenced to start” says Marley Davis, a 7th grader at Monforton School.  In Montana, over 1,600 residents (the population of Three Forks) die each year due to their own smoking.  If tobacco use continues at the current rate, over 19,000 Montana kids, who are now under age 18, will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.