Wayne College Students Hosting Anti-Smoking Rally Wednesday

WAYNE, NJ — Students at William Paterson University will host an anti-tobacco rally Wednesday for Kick Butts Day.

The rally, which is open to the public, is at noon at the university's Machuga Student Center. Students will speak out against big tobacco companies and seek support for a tobacco-free campus.

Kick Butts Day is a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The campaign wants kids to encourage their peers not to use tobacco.

In New Jersey, tobacco use claims 11,800 lives and costs $4 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 8.2 percent of New Jersey’s high school students smoke, according to the campaign.

Since 2000, the national smoking rate among high school students has fallen by 71 percent, from 28 percent in 2000 to 8 percent in 2016, according to the campaign.

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