Students from Wilber-Clatonia High School joined nearly 150 Nebraska youth at the No Limits Fall Summit Nov. 20-21 at Camp Comeca near Cozad. No Limits is Nebraska’s youth-led anti-tobacco program.
The summit provided information about the tobacco industry’s efforts to attract new users for its products and tools to engage youth in anti-tobacco activism.
Participants included Sky Burger, Briar Kinnan, members of the No Limits State Board, Marissa Florian, Mirisa Hernandez, Sara Holling, Madison Troshynski, Haylee Shore, Cheyenne Needles, and Ashley Zahourek. Janet Burger and Diane Troshynski were the adult sponsors for the group.
“I was shocked to see how all the statistics make such a big difference,” said Mirisa Hernandez. “I hope to be able to help make a difference in other people’s lives by speaking out.”
“Teens have heard about the health effects of tobacco use, but they might not know what the tobacco industry has done to hide that information and mislead the public,” said Amanda Mortensen, No Limits project coordinator. “We want youth to feel empowered and know that they can change the influence Big Tobacco has on Nebraska.”
Armed with information, youth attending the summit can fight the impact tobacco companies have in their own communities using activism approaches learned at the summit.
Madison Troshynski said, “I thought the No Limits Summit was a lot of fun, we met a lot of new people. I met a girl who used to smoke, but she was able to quit with the help of a friend and then she joined No Limits to join the cause. I thought it was cool that her friends helped her to quit.”
The No Limits Fall Summit included youth in grades 7-12.
The event was free for participants, and No Limits provided transportation for the youth to and from the summit.
For more information about No Limits and the group’s upcoming activities, visit www.NoLimitsNebraska.com or contact Mortensen at 866-FYI-TEEN (866-394-8336) or info@nolimitsnebras.wpengine.com.