Tobacco Free Madison is hosting a BMX bike show called the Freestyle Connection at Lanier Field on Saturday, September 24, from 10 am – 1 pm. This group came to town a year ago and performed two standing room only shows for the community. They perform street tricks and some crazy ramp jumps that go over 20 feet in the air. They often get attendees involved in the action.
In addition to their entertaining bike show, the Freestyle Connection encourages youth to invest in their future by making good decisions today. Those decisions include choosing to be tobacco free and avoiding the impacts tobacco use can have on one’s life. Another decision they encourage youth to make is to wear their bicycling safety helmets. Healthy Start will be on hand providing a limited quantity of helmets, in various sizes to interested attendees.
The shows will be at Lanier Field, scheduled at 10 am and 12 noon.
The message that Tobacco Free Madison is trying to get out is that tobacco companies are manipulating the ingredients of many tobacco products to make them sweeter, more palatable with flavors like strawberry, grape, pina colada and chocolate chip cookie dough. They then package these products in brightly colored packages engineered to attract the attention of youth. Though legally not allowed to market towards youth, these marketing tactics appear to be aimed at none other. Big tobacco also alters the levels of some of the chemicals in these products to reduce the feeling of sickness that many get during their trial period starting a tobacco habit.
So if the products taste “better” are packaged more attractively and tend to not cause sickness, then youth are more likely to try them and initiate a tobacco habit that could last a lifetime, a lifetime that is statistically shorter than non-tobacco users.
We want to reduce youth initiation of tobacco use in Madison County and therefore reduce the impacts of tobacco use in Madison County.
Come out and join us on Saturday, September 24, at 10 am or 12 pm!
