TRUCKEE, Calif. and#8212; Young people in Truckee are learning how to become active in issues affecting their community through the Tobacco YOUTH Coalition and#8212;Youth Opposing the Use of Tobacco for Health.

The Tobacco YOUTH Coalition is an effort of The Nevada County Tobacco Use Prevention program which works locally with Truckee High School youth and frequently collaborates with students from Bear River and Nevada Union in Eastern Nevada County to provide opportunities to learn key principals in community activism by participating in the coalition.

Currently, members are campaigning to raise awareness about the amount of illegal tobacco sales rates to minors in the Truckee community, tobacco litter and its effects on the environment, water systems, animals and wildfires, and its influence on youth through movies in Hollywood.

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This past school year and summer, participants set up information and education tables at Earth Day on the Truckee High School campus to educate their peers on how detrimental the tobacco industry is on the environment and hosted a Great American Smoke-Out Table at the Sierra College Campus in Truckee to provide information and resources related to helping students with tobacco cessation.

Participants have also hit the streets to survey residents on whether or not they are supportive of the Town of Truckee adopting a tobacco retail license and to conduct a butt pick-up in downtown Truckee where 2,737 cigarette butts and nine cigarette packs of improperly disposed of cigarette butts were collected.

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The Tobacco YOUTH Coalition in Truckee meets bi-weekly during the school year and on an event by event basis. Interested youth are invited to attend and receive free healthy snacks, invitations to youth development and leadership conferences, trainings on social media, opportunities to visit the California Legislatures, and get involved in local advocacy efforts.

Young people who participate develop a positive perception of themselves as leaders who can make a difference in their community.

For more information about the Tobacco YOUTH Coalition and the Nevada County Tobacco Use Prevention Project in Truckee visit http://www.MyNevadaCounty.com/tobacco or call Devin Bradley at 530-550-2309, devin.bradley@co.nevada.ca.us.

and#8212; Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.com