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Teens Turn to Activism After Losing Loved Ones to Tobacco
Thaddeus Figlock introduces himself to a legislative aide as members of the Silver City Teen Center made the rounds at the State House during Kick Butts Day.
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March 28, 2011
What does it take to transform a teenager into an anti-tobacco activist? For several members of the Silver City Teen Center in Taunton, it was simple: Family.
Thaddeus Figlock has happy memories of the afternoons he spent with his grandmother as a kid. She would pick him up from school a few times a week, and they would head to the park and play games or go back to her house and swim in the pool.
"She was a big part of my childhood," Figlock, 17, says. "And I love thinking about that, but every time she'd stop to take a smoke …" and Figlock stops speaking. It's difficult to talk about, he said.
Two weeks ago, his grandmother had surgery to remove one of her lungs, the latest round in her years-long fight against cancer. She started smoking at 15 and continued for nearly 50 years. "I try not to think about the worst-case scenario, because that's just depressing," he said.
Figlock invoked the story of his grandmother when he addressed the crowd of over 300 youth preparing to march across the Boston Common as part of Kick Butts Day, a day devoted to educating lawmakers and the public at large about the dangers of tobacco. "I hope that in the future no one has to experience this kind of heartache," Figlock told them.
The teens are part of The 84, a statewide anti-tobacco youth movement named for the 84 percent of Massachusetts teens who don't smoke. The 84 is managed by Health Resources in Action and funded by Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program, a program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Figlock came with two other youth from Taunton, Codey Taylor and Michael Marvin. Marvin was the only member of the three who had taken part in Kick Butts Day before.
In the morning, the three boys gathered inside the Cathedral of St. Paul with other teens from across the state. HRiA staff helped prepare them for their legislator visits by giving pointers on how to introduce themselves, share their personal connection to tobacco, and share information on how the tobacco industry targets youth with their deadly products before standing in as elected officials for simulated meetings.
Taylor, 16, rehearsed his line: "I want to make this world a better place so that people in the future don't have to lose loved ones to tobacco" as he has. Both of his grandfathers died from smoking-related causes.
Marvin, too, has felt the impact of smoking personally. Two years ago his 20-year-old cousin died after experiencing heart problems. Diagnosed with a heart murmur, he had been warned that he could die if he didn't stop smoking.
"I felt like I had to do something," Marvin, 19, said. At the time, though, he felt powerless. "I didn't know what to do." Then he found The 84.
"It changed my emotions all around. It gave me hope that we can change it … we can change the world," he said.
Once inside the State House, the youth started visiting with legislators. Outside the offices of Sen. Marc Pacheco, the Taunton boys admitted to feeling nervous. Taylor, the group's designated speaker, worried about saying the wrong thing. The boys quickly practiced what they planned to say before Charles Basler, an aide to Sen. Pacheco, arrived.
They wanted to let legislators know about how the tactics of the tobacco companies are evolving. While the rates of teen smoking are declining, the use of other tobacco products (OTPs), such as dissolvable tobacco that looks like tic tacs, are on the rise.
"Things are too convenient to be coincidental," Taylor told Basler, explaining how the OTPs are placed next to mints and candies in stores. Slowly, the boys' confidence levels seemed to rise and they began speaking with passion about wanting to lessen tobacco use among their peers.
"If we could raise (the percentage of teens who don't use tobacco) by even 1 percent, that would be a very worthwhile endeavor," Taylor said.
Basler thanked the boys for coming out and said that he, too, worked in anti-tobacco groups as a teenager in Taunton. Hearing that, the boys smiled.
"That felt great," Marvin said after their meeting. "It felt like we could finally make a difference."
Thaddeus Figlock has happy memories of the afternoons he spent with his grandmother as a kid. She would pick him up from school a few times a week, and they would head to the park and play games or go back to her house and swim in the pool.
"She was a big part of my childhood," Figlock, 17, says. "And I love thinking about that, but every time she'd stop to take a smoke …" and Figlock stops speaking. It's difficult to talk about, he said.
Two weeks ago, his grandmother had surgery to remove one of her lungs, the latest round in her years-long fight against cancer. She started smoking at 15 and continued for nearly 50 years. "I try not to think about the worst-case scenario, because that's just depressing," he said.
Figlock invoked the story of his grandmother when he addressed the crowd of over 300 youth preparing to march across the Boston Common as part of Kick Butts Day, a day devoted to educating lawmakers and the public at large about the dangers of tobacco. "I hope that in the future no one has to experience this kind of heartache," Figlock told them.
The teens are part of The 84, a statewide anti-tobacco youth movement named for the 84 percent of Massachusetts teens who don't smoke. The 84 is managed by Health Resources in Action and funded by Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program, a program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Figlock came with two other youth from Taunton, Codey Taylor and Michael Marvin. Marvin was the only member of the three who had taken part in Kick Butts Day before.
In the morning, the three boys gathered inside the Cathedral of St. Paul with other teens from across the state. HRiA staff helped prepare them for their legislator visits by giving pointers on how to introduce themselves, share their personal connection to tobacco, and share information on how the tobacco industry targets youth with their deadly products before standing in as elected officials for simulated meetings.
Taylor, 16, rehearsed his line: "I want to make this world a better place so that people in the future don't have to lose loved ones to tobacco" as he has. Both of his grandfathers died from smoking-related causes.
Marvin, too, has felt the impact of smoking personally. Two years ago his 20-year-old cousin died after experiencing heart problems. Diagnosed with a heart murmur, he had been warned that he could die if he didn't stop smoking.
"I felt like I had to do something," Marvin, 19, said. At the time, though, he felt powerless. "I didn't know what to do." Then he found The 84.
"It changed my emotions all around. It gave me hope that we can change it … we can change the world," he said.
Once inside the State House, the youth started visiting with legislators. Outside the offices of Sen. Marc Pacheco, the Taunton boys admitted to feeling nervous. Taylor, the group's designated speaker, worried about saying the wrong thing. The boys quickly practiced what they planned to say before Charles Basler, an aide to Sen. Pacheco, arrived.
They wanted to let legislators know about how the tactics of the tobacco companies are evolving. While the rates of teen smoking are declining, the use of other tobacco products (OTPs), such as dissolvable tobacco that looks like tic tacs, are on the rise.
"Things are too convenient to be coincidental," Taylor told Basler, explaining how the OTPs are placed next to mints and candies in stores. Slowly, the boys' confidence levels seemed to rise and they began speaking with passion about wanting to lessen tobacco use among their peers.
"If we could raise (the percentage of teens who don't use tobacco) by even 1 percent, that would be a very worthwhile endeavor," Taylor said.
Basler thanked the boys for coming out and said that he, too, worked in anti-tobacco groups as a teenager in Taunton. Hearing that, the boys smiled.
"That felt great," Marvin said after their meeting. "It felt like we could finally make a difference."
Members of the Silver City Teen Center in Taunton took part in Kick Butts Day in Boston.
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