Lowell, MA- 2/20/2002- Youth from Lawrence today joined teens from around northeastern Massachusetts to introduce new cigarette warning label designs they hope will encourage federal legislation requiring more truth on cigarette packages. Citing the i

The Massachusetts youth were inspired by Canada, which has required similar large graphic labels since January 2001. A recently released study reports the effectiveness of the new Canadian labels in discouraging smoking. In designing their labels, the Massachusetts youth targeted specific audiences, such as other youth, pregnant women and parents of young children. "We wanted to make tobacco warning labels more effective to help prevent people from smoking and to influence smokers to quit," said Johanna Ortolaza, age 17, of the Lawrence Teen Coalition. The teens are part of youth advocacy programs of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program and last March took part in a regional Youth Advocacy Summit where the label project began. Over 150 label designs were created in youth groups from Haverhill to Salem. A group of teens and adults narrowed down the designs to six concepts that were transformed into the final designs by a graphic artist and made into oversized mock cigarette packages. The three-foot tall packages will be displayed in communities around the northeast this spring, including Lawrence. "We hope that these warning labels will eventually appear on U.S. cigarettes, similar to the Canadian cigarette packages," Johan Pereira, age 16, of the Lawrence Teen Coalition. The Lawrence Teen Coalition's RETO group is funded through the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program, which is part of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. RETO has been working to prevent tobacco use among teens in the Lawrence area since 1993.

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