Teens asking others to avoid smoking

A group of local teens are giving a voice to the voiceless by encouraging the public to steer clear in their campaign to stop smoking in cars with children 16 and under.

"There is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke," said Phil Price, a member of Article 4, a group of youth advocates for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. "Opening a window does not rid the car of the 2000+ chemicals, 50 of which are cancer causing and especially harmful to children."

Article 4 is a group of youth advocates who create campaigns to raise awareness about the manipulative tactics of the tobacco industry, and influence social change within their community.

Their latest campaign, Steer Clear, is coinciding with National Non-Smoking Week, which runs from Jan. 20 to 26.

This campaign is designed to educate the public about the dangers of smoking in vehicles with children and to promote social change. Article 4 will use an interactive display at the Georgian Mall, street marketing and youthfriendly YouTube videos to communicate their message to the public.

"Our goal is to inspire and mobilize our community to take action by signing our petition which we hope to present to our local MPP at a later date," said Leanne Yates, another member of Article 4. "We are determined to protect the health and rights of children by advocating for policy change."