Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Honors Emily Allison of Gardnerville, NV as Youth...

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Honors Emily Allison of Gardnerville, NV as
Youth Advocate of the Year

- Leadership in Fight Against Tobacco Recognized Nationally -

WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Emily Allison, 16, of
Gardnerville has been named the West Regional Youth Advocate of the Year by
the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for her leadership in the fight against
tobacco. Emily is being honored at a gala in the nation's capital on May 20
along with a national winner, international grant winner, three other regional
winners and a group winner.

Emily, a junior at Douglas High School, has been involved in tobacco
prevention activities since she was in the 7th grade. She has testified at a
hearing in favor of a bill making it illegal for minors to possess tobacco or
any related products and was recognized on the state Senate floor for her
involvement. One of Emily's most recent projects included a Clean Cuisine
effort in Nevada, which rewarded local restaurants for being smoke-free by
giving them free advertisement online and in newspapers.

Emily's commitment to tobacco prevention is deeply personal as she was never
able to meet her grandfather who died of a tobacco-related disease. Today, she
works tirelessly to help prevent youth from ever starting this deadly
addiction.

More than 400 public health, political, civic and business leaders will attend
the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' twelfth annual anniversary gala in
Washington, D.C., to recognize these young leaders. The winners will receive
educational scholarships and grants to continue their prevention efforts and
serve as ambassadors for the Campaign.

"Emily Allison and other young leaders from across the nation are making great
strides against youth tobacco addiction and their voices are being heard,"
said Matthew L. Myers, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids president. "Every day,
1,000 kids in the United States become regular smokers and one-third of them
will die prematurely from tobacco-caused disease. Almost 90 percent of adult
smokers began at or before the age of 18. Youth are powerful allies in the
fight to turn these trends around."

In Nevada, more than 18 percent of high school students smoke, and 3,300 kids
become daily smokers every year. Every year, tobacco use kills 3,100
residents and costs the state over $565 million in health care bills.
Nationally, tobacco use kills more than 400,000 people and costs the nation
more than $96 billion in health care costs each year.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco
use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the
world. By changing public attitudes and public policies on tobacco, the
Campaign strives to prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect
everyone from secondhand smoke.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Nicole Dueffert of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, +1-202-296-5469