SANTA BARBARA — Friendship Plaza on Santa Barbara City College’s East Campus will be transformed into a giant ashtray — cigarette butts and all — for “Kick Butts Day,” on Wednesday, March 15, from 10:00-2:00, to increase awareness and understanding of tobacco and tobacco-related issues. The event is hosted by ASAP, SBCC’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness Program.
More than 130 oversized cigarettes scattered near the college’s Campus Center cafeteria will serve to represent the 1,300 daily tobacco-related deaths in the U.S. Student clubs from SBCC as well as Santa Barbara County’s CEASE and their high school advocacy group COYA will demonstrate the devastating affects of addiction in various ways, including interactive games and opportunities for students to voice how they see tobacco and related products impacting their own lives and communities. Incentives for students to participate in a cigarette butt clean up will also be offered.
“The goal of Kick Butts Day is to raise awareness about the effects Big Tobacco and tobacco usage has on our community,” says Kathryn Magnani, program coordinator for SBCC’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness Program (ASAP). “SBCC has been a smoke free campus since August 2013, but we continue to see environmental impact on our staircases and walking paths that are littered with cigarette butts and with vaping and e-cig usage polluting the air. Often times tobacco related education ends after the discussion about personal health repercussions. In promoting awareness of these issues we hope to provide our students with a more well rounded understanding of how tobacco and its related products impact their lives. Ultimately, we want them to make the most informed decisions possible.”
ASAP is a free and confidential program to help students who are concerned or have questions about their alcohol and/or drug use. Trained interns meet with students one on one, or with a friend, partner, or family member, in a supportive, non-judgemental environment.