Truth Initiative launches summertime anti-smoking road show
WASHINGTON - A crew of truth "tour riders" are hitting the road to connect with more than one million young people on the Vans Warped Tour and inspire them to be the generation that ends tobacco use for good. Truth is one of the nation's longest running and most successful youth smoking prevention campaigns.
"For 16 years we've had the truth tour help us bring our brand to life," said Eric Asche, chief marketing officer at Truth Initiative, the organization that funds and directs the truth campaign. "Our tour riders are aspirational people who create experiences that live beyond the concert; they embody this generation and inspire others to end smoking in a relatable and more importantly real way."
The riders will arm youth with facts about tobacco and inspire them to use their creativity and social influence to become a generation of tobacco "finishers."
Teen cigarette smoking rates are down to a historic low of 7%, compared to 23% in 2000. But more progress needs to be made as use of other tobacco products like e-cigarettes and hookah continues to rise. Truth created the "Finish It" campaign to empower teens to make their generation the one that ends smoking by giving them the facts about tobacco, sharing progress in the fight against the smoking epidemic and empowering teens to use their creativity to make the fight against Big Tobacco their own.
Since August 2014, the campaign has generated more than 445 million interactions.
"I used to be a smoker until I learned what it was doing to my body," said Alex Heberlein, a truth tour rider from Liberty, Ill. "My own experience drove me to apply to be a truth rider and while on the truth tour this summer, I'm looking forward to connecting with other young people like myself to share some of the surprising facts about tobacco and give them the information they need to make an informed decision about smoking."
The 2016 truth tour will include stops on the Vans Warped Tour. The full schedule for the tour is available at: thetruth.com/events.
Tour stops feature the iconic orange "truth truck" which is rigged with a DJ booth and dance floor creating a truth "zone" offering games, music, contests and giveaways, including t-shirts, hats, socks and skateboard decks.