Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Launches Anti-Smoking Programs For High Schools

Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Launches Anti-Smoking Programs For High Schools in General Healthcare

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state’s largest health insurer, will launch an anti-smoking campaign targeting more than 16,000 students. The campaign will go throughout the 2008-2009 school year and implement awareness programs in 27 schools around the state.

The schools participating in the BCBS program will promote and encourage local restaurants and other public places to make their environments smoke-free, said a PRNewswire press release.

The 2004 Michigan Youth Tobacco Survey found that 17 percent of high school students are smokers and each day 50 students start regularly smoking, according to the press release.

BCBS of Michigan’s initiative is a good step toward reducing the amount of young smokers. Many states have already passed laws that prohibit smoking in public places, such as restaurants and bars, and the bans has been shown to improve the overall health of their residents.

“Encouraging teens to live tobacco-free is part of our comprehensive program to improve the health of all Michigan residents,” said Lynda Rossi, the BCBS vice president of public policy and social mission.

“We want to do all we can to prevent youngsters from facing serious health conditions later on in life,” Rossi added.

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