For Immediate Release: March 21, 2011 Media Contacts: Ruby Moore Texas School Safety Center Texas State University - San Marcos 877-304-2727, rm72@txstate.edu Sponsor Name Phone Number, E-mail City Group Joins New Tobacco Prevention Movement CITY, Texas — Group Name from City is one of the first groups in Texas to join a new youth tobacco prevention movement called Say What! Say What! is the first network in Texas that joins all active youth groups working on tobacco prevention GroupName is one of the founding groups of the Say What! network The Say What! movement debuts across the rest of the state March 23 — Texas Tobacco-Free Kids Day, an annual awareness day to encourage students to live tobacco-free It’s held in conjunction with Kick Butts Day, a national day that empowers youth to speak up about being tobacco-free “We joined Say What! because details,” said StudentName, a member of GroupName “I hope other groups will join it too because details.” Say What! has a members-only, password-protected site at www.TxSayWhat.com On the site, teens can find ideas and resources to assist them in hosting local tobacco prevention activities Student groups wanting to work on tobacco prevention can register their group with the help of their adult sponsors Say What! is a network of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) managed by the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) The youth movement was developed by 250 key teen stakeholders, ensuring that the name, look, and focus would appeal to Texas youth Texas has seen a dramatic drop in tobacco use rates over the last decade However, research commissioned by DSHS and conducted by Texas A&M University shows that while overall use numbers continue to trend down, the number of students who report using tobacco products continues to climb from grade to grade Every year, 3,600 adult nonsmokers in Texas die each year from exposure to secondhand smoke “We encourage all Texas teens who are passionate about tobacco prevention and want to make a difference to join Say What!” said Jennifer Steele, education & curriculum services program director with TxSSC About the Texas School Safety Center The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) serves schools and communities to create safe, secure, and healthy environments The center resides at Texas State University – San Marcos and is funded through direct appropriations from the Texas Legislature, as well as through grants and contracts from other funding sources, including the Texas Department of State Health Services ###