>Click to enlarge photo  "Decile no al cigarrillo" –Say No to Cigarettes– is the message that students at Lagomar's Public School No.183 want everyone to see and hear during their tobacco awareness campaign to safeguard public health.

Educators, students and parents of Public School No.183 in nearby Lagomar gathered on November 9 to celebrate the success of their tobacco awareness campaign. The message was loud and clear: kids want to safeguard their health from the threat of tobacco products, and they do so by encouraging their peers to "be what you are" and refuse to be manipulated by advertising that portrays cigarette smoking as part of a glamorous lifestyle. The students recognize that tobacco is a dangerous and addictive product that takes a huge financial, physical, and emotional toll on families, individuals, and society.

The slogan "Dare to be what you are" (Animate a ser como sos) is derived from a frequently aired cigarette commercial blatantly aimed at young people. The kids adapted it to their own message in order to encourage others to have the self confidence to reject the propaganda of the cigarette companies and demand their right to live in a healthy, tobacco-free environment.

The initiative is part of a pilot program called Youth Initiative For Tobacco Use Prevention that encourages the active participation of public school students. The program was launched in coordination with public school authorities in July 2005, and was implemented under the auspices of the Iniciativa Latinoamericana in conjunction with the Education Development Center (EDC), an American-based international non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing education and promoting health. The project is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Uruguay, the city of Montevideo's Department of Health and Social Policies, the Alliance Against Tobacco Use, and the Pan-American Organization of Health (OPS). (See related article)

  PHOTO GALLERY

>Click to enlarge photo  Students and teachers display their school's message, "Dare to be what you are" and "Say no to cigarettes" during the celebration of the Youth Initiative For Tobacco Use Prevention at Public School No.183 in Lagomar.

>Click to enlarge photo  Invited guests Juan Jose Mere, from Iniciativa Latinoamericana, Amanda Cordones from the U.S. Embassy's Cultural Affairs Department, and Linda Gonzalez, acting U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, sit with parents and students during a tobacco awareness presentation at Public School No.183 in Lagomar.

>Click to enlarge photo  Acting U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Linda Gonzalez helps distribute award cerificates to students who participated in the tobacco awareness presentation at Public School No.183 in Lagomar.

>Click to enlarge photo  Students perform a demonstration of the effects of tobacco smoking as part of the Youth Initiative For Tobacco Use Prevention at Lagomar's Public School No.183.

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The students of Lagomar's Public School No.183 recorded their own tobacco awareness jingle using the words "dare to be what you are".

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Students and parents test their knowledge about the dangers of smoking as they play with a tobacco awareness board game during the Youth Initiative For Tobacco Use Prevention at Lagomar's Public School No.183.

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Acting U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Linda Gonzalez helps with some of the answers as students play with a tobacco awareness board game at Lagomar's Public School No.183.

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