Health advocates hope to deglamorize smoking with the first statewide counter-marketing campaign to reduce tobacco use in Ohio, especially among youths.

Teens appearing in the anti-smoking ads include Patrick Kemper (left), 14, of St. Bartholomew School in Springfield Township, and Zach Green, 15, of Cincinnati Country Day School in Indian Hill. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The four-year, $50 million campaign, unveiled Thursday by the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, encourages Ohioans to take a stand against tobacco.

        “Stand” is the theme of the campaign, which is paid for with money from the Master Settlement Agreement between tobacco companies and 46 states, including Ohio.

        “Tobacco companies have targeted our children, and it has worked,” said Jim Sandmann, a foundation board member. He also is president and chief executive officer of the Health Planning and Resource Development Association of the Central Ohio River Valley.

This logo is aimed at encouraging Ohio youths to resist tobacco use.

        “Ohio is among the top five states in the country with the highest smoking rate for adults,” Mr. Sandmann said. “And our school children in grades 6 to 8 exceed the national smoking rate by about 50 percent.''

        Northlich, a downtown-based communications firm, developed the campaign for the foundation. It includes broadcast and print advertising, public relations, interactive and community-based activities — all designed to change the culture of smoking.

        “It's not just about informing kids about the dangers of tobacco use,” said Mark Serrianne, CEO of Northlich. “It's about creating a movement to protect the next generation of Ohioans. This is a campaign about saving lives.”

ON THE WEB

For more information, adults can visit www.standohio.org. The youth Web site is www.standonline.org.

        The company revealed three television spots, aimed at young people, that begin airing today. “It's kids talking to kids that's going to make this thing work,” said Don Perkins, Northlich executive creative director.

        Two teens who appear in those ads are Zach Green, 15, a sophomore at Cincinnati Country Day School, Indian Hill, and Patrick Kemper, 14, an eighth-grader at St. Bartholomew Consolidated School, Springfield Township. Both have family members and friends who smoke.

        Zach avoids smoking because he is a year-round athlete involved in soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball and swimming. “Smoking will kill my game — absolutely demolish it,” he said. “I can't afford for that to happen.”

        Kids can convince other kids not to smoke, Patrick said, by setting an example and encouraging others to stop smoking. “We need to take a stand and speak our mind to people.”

        The ads, Zach added, are a good place to start because they reflect teen-agers' styles and language. “I think kids are really going to connect with them.”

Hateful words flew before bullets struck
Jazz great Marsalis bails out of concert
Duke enters race for upscale retail
New Ruby eatery to recall city's 'vivid past'
11 students charged in fake ID case
Neighborhoods hear promises
New tobacco fight begins
Ringer sentenced to 21 years
Tristate A.M. Report
Holy cow
Some Good News
No ending here
Ohio's fish
Class action disputed
Commission pressed on hospital
Fabric artifacts trigger memories
Six more file to run for Butler judge
1800s house up for listing
Show choirs take stage in Fairfield
Court candidate to shun outside help
Sales tax hiatus won't happen soon, Finan says
Traficant's idiosyncrasies raise eyebrows in court
A hard look at rave drugs
Exemptions proposed for slots
Kentucky News Briefs
Lynn, Clooney honored for careers
No evidence of accelerant found in horse barn fire
Planning commissions would get say on cell towers, under new bill
Refresh your severe-weather IQ this month
School funding coalition may grow
Subdivision gates close on outsiders
Young official joins McConnell campaign