Local rap warns kids
against smoking

The music video will appear during
shows with a youth audience

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Star-Bulletin staff

"Leave um where they're at" is a tune being aired in a 60-second music video with a message to kids not to smoke.

Local rap artist Mo Luv wrote and performed the song.

The song alerts kids to dangers of tobacco, warns of tobacco industry tactics and encourages them to leave tobacco alone. The videos are scheduled to appear through the end of May during TV programs with a youth audience.

"Anti-tobacco industry ads are the most effective among teens, encouraging youth to turn their rebellious nature against the tobacco industry's efforts to manipulate them," said Julian Lipsher, coordinator of the state Health Department's Tobacco Prevention & Education Program.

If current trends in Hawaii continue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 60,000 children today will be addicted to tobacco by the time they're 18, and 20,000 will die prematurely of tobacco-related illnesses.

Lipsher said about 90 percent of today's smokers began their habit as teenagers. "So it is critical that we reach out to youth and educate them on the dangers of tobacco use before they start smoking."

For more information on tobacco prevention and youth, call 586-4613.