NC STEP launches “No Spit” All-Star Campaign

Campaign will honor baseball players who pledge not to use tobacco products  

CANTON , NC – The North Carolina Spit Tobacco Education Program (NC STEP) has partnered with The Sports Flash (TSF) Radio Network to launch the NC STEP “No Spit” All-Star campaign funded by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund, which provides grants statewide to educate young people to make good choices concerning the use of tobacco. The campaign will honor the best baseball players who pledge not to use spit tobacco – on or off the field!      

“One of our goals is to reduce the number of young people using smokeless tobacco,” said Paul Turner , Director of NC STEP.  “It is important for young people to understand that smokeless does not mean harmless.  We believe this campaign will generate awareness about the dangers of smokeless or spit tobacco use among our state’s young people and honor those young people who have made the healthy lifestyle decision not to use spit tobacco.”  

In the Oral Health America 2006 Spit Tobacco Report Card, the nation received a “D” for the use of spit tobacco.  That means between 12 to 20 percent of all high school males in the country have used spit tobacco in the last 30 days.  The campaign intends to educate young people in North Carolina about the dangers of spit tobacco and reinforce the healthy, lifestyle choice not to use tobacco products, especially spit tobacco.  

NC STEP is an effort designed to educate North Carolinians about the dangers of spit tobacco.  Each year, between 10 to 16 million Americans put their health at risk by using spit tobacco.  NC STEPs mission is to prevent people, especially young people, from starting to use spit tobacco.  For more information about NC STEP, please contact Paul Turner at (828) 648-1211.  

The TSF Radio Network delivers customized, local sports reports to 143 network affiliates in nine different states, reaching a weekly listening audience of more than 1.9 million people.  TSF has 31 network affiliates in North Carolina and will provide the day-to-day management of the campaign.  For more information about the TSF Radio Network, contact Mike Sinnott at (517) 927-4570.  

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