Activities for College-Aged Students
Working to Pass a Local Ordinance
Have an impact on your community! Work to get a law passed in your city to protect people from secondhand tobacco smoke or stop tobacco sales to kids.
Estimated preparation time: 3 months
Cost: $40 or more
Contact Members of Congress
You don't have to work just at the local level. Let your members of Congress know that you think the tobacco companies should tell the public what exactly is in their deadly products. You can take action!
Estimated preparation time: 1 month
Cost: $0 - $20
Battle of the Bands
Use music to spread your anti-tobacco industry message to your community, and have a great time too!
Age Group: high school and above
Number of Participants: the more the better, with at least five organizers
Preparation Time: 3 months
Resources: paper, copier, and sound equipment
Cost: approximately $20-$40 for basic supplies and copies, and try to get sound equipment donated
Legislative Breakfast
Everyone loves a free breakfast, so invite your legislators to join you and take the opportunity to tell them exactly what they can do to help you in your efforts.
Age Group: High school students and above
Number of Participants: 5 or more
Time to prepare: 2 months
Smoke Free-Dining
If you think workers and patrons shouldn't have to put up with secondhand smoke in restaurants, or any other workplace, this smoke-free sit-in is a creative way to send your message and keep your favorite restaurant smoke-free at the same time.
Age Group: High school and above, but can be adapted for other ages
Number of Participants: As many as it takes to fill up the smoking section
Preparation Time: 3 weeks
Resources: Paper, poster board or palm cards, markers or access to a printe
Cost: $20-$40 for materials. Participants will need to cover their own meals at the restaurant and will need to get to the restaurant on their own.
Kicking Butts on Film
Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Do you or the youth you work with love acting? Here's a chance to share your anti-tobacco message with the world. Find out more about how you can reach hundreds of thousands of people by making a video public service announcement (PSA) and posting it on YouTube. This is a great opportunity for youth to stand out, speak up, and seize control against Big Tobacco.
Estimated preparation time: 2 months
Cost: $0 - $200
They put what in a Cigarette?!
There's a lot more than tobacco in cigarettes, spit tobacco and secondhand smoke. There are plenty of chemicals that can also be found in everyday household products. For this activity, you will create a display that tells others about these ingredients and exposes the truth.
Estimated preparation time: 3-4 weeks
Cost: $10 - $20
Numbers Campaign
How do you get people to realize just how deadly tobacco is? By creating a way to show the “fatal figures” for your state or your community. There are a lot of easy ways to make numbers into something that people will understand. Turn the numbers into what they represent: LIVES.
Estimated preparation time: 2 months
Cost: $20 or more
Sumo Wrestling/Boxing Match
Use a boxing match to help expose how the tobacco companies enjoy the profits from their deadly products rather than caring about the lives of their customers. There are several ways you can set up the boxing match. You and your group can decide to make it as elaborate or as simple as you'd like.
Estimated preparation time: 4-10 weeks
Cost: $50-400
Take it to the Streets
Grab your whole community's attention when you take it to the streets and spread interesting tobacco company quotes and tobacco facts all across your town.
Estimated preparation time: 1-2 weeks
Cost: $0 - $20
Kick the Can
Kick the Can is a group of activities which focus on the use of spit tobacco. Create a make your own spit exhibition and show your audience exactly what tobacco companies put in spit tobacco. Create a Spit Kit to help others quit using spit tobacco, or hand out Kick the Can stickers to advertise your views on spit tobacco.
Estimated preparation time: Varies
Cost: Varies
Smoke-Free Playgrounds
Have you ever wondered if your younger brother or sister, or other young relatives are being harmed by secondhand smoke and cigarette butt litter? To ensure their protection create a city ordinance that will not permit smoking 25-feet from a tot-lot (playground).
Age Group: Middle school, high school and above
Number of Participants: 8 or more
Time: 3-4 months
Resources: Signage, containers for cigarette
Caravan to the Capital
What better way than a rally at your state capitol or city hall. Gather as many youth advocates as you can and caravan to the capitol to let your representatives know you support strong tobacco control policies and they should too!
Age Group: Middle school, high school and above.
Number of Participants: 100 to 1,000 or more
Preparation Time: 3 to 4 months
Resources: Paper and access to photocopier and printer; transportation (either private cars or rented buses); access to a microphone, loudspeakers, and a podium.
Cost: Varies, but a minimum of $5-$10 per participant to cover transportation and audiovisual equipment rental. (Estimate does not include the cost of box lunches or giveaways such as T-shirts, buttons, etc.)
Buck Big Tobacco
Rodeos are for families, not Big Tobacco! Take it to the streets and protest the tobacco industry and brand sponsorship at rodeos. This activity is an example of "Take it to the Streets" from the KBD guide, and features an annual event organized by OK SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) protesting U.S. Smokeless Tobacco's (UST) sponsorship of the Bullnanza rodeo in Oklahoma.
Age Group: Middle school, high school and above
Number Participants: 15 – 100 or more
Preparation Time: 4-6 weeks planning, 3-4 hours day of event
Resources: Signs, palm cards, gear, t-shirts, cars and a hearse if you have the resources
Cost: up to $200 for the event supplies (if you plan on renting a hearse) and gas money for each driver
Quit Cold Turkey Stand
Spend the afternoon at a Quit Cold Turkey stand. Set up a table at a busy grocery store and pass out cold turkey sandwiches and information that has tips to help people become tobacco-free.
Age Group: 15 and older
Number of Participants: 2-5
Time: 2 days
Resources: Individually packaged turkey sandwiches, a table, posters, informational aides to educate visitors regarding the toll of tobacco.
Cost: $100 - $200, depending on the amount of sandwiches.
Flash Mob
A flash mob is designed to capture attention. This is a great way to get out your message to your school or community!
Age Group: Any age, however, younger youth will need to be supervised.
Number of Participants: As many as possible
Time: 1-2 weeks
Resources: Markers, posters, a banner, and transportation. Other options include making (or buying) t-shirts for all of the participants and having a table with flyers and information to hand out.
Cost: $0 - $25, or more if you choose to purchase t-shirts.
Missing You
The number of people who die from tobacco use is more than just a statistic. Help people in your community realize that tobacco kills mothers, fathers, sons and daughters by posting “missing” flyers around your community.
Age Group: Any age
Number of Participants: As many as possible
Time: 1-2 days
Resources: Markers, construction paper, rubber cement, and photos of family and friends who have died due to tobacco use.
Cost: $10
- Before you start, respectfully ask permission to use the names and photographs of your friends and family for this activity.
- Create "missing" posters using pictures of friends and family members. Make sure you include that they died from tobacco use.
- Hang the posters up around your community (For example, on community bulletin boards, on light poles, bus stops, etc.). Remember to get permission before hanging posters on private property.
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