PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arizona students submitted an artistic depiction of the impact of tobacco use in their communities as part of Arizona’s anti-smoking youth coalition Students Taking a New Direction, better known as STAND. The 2014 gallery is featured on the STAND website at STAND; this year’s top picks are also being featured at azcentral.com for readers to choose their favorite.
The 2014 Art of Resistance top pick was by Joseline Valenzuela, a North High School student whose piece is titled “Make the Right Choice.” She will receive $200 in art supplies and her piece will be the inspiration for a mural at a later time this year by muralist Hugo Medina. Her winning work will also be the new cover photo on the STAND Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Stand.
STAND is an active group of youth committed to raising awareness about tobacco addiction and delivering prevention and education; follow their activities on Twitter at @AZSTAND, join the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Stand or learn more about Arizona’s statewide anti-smoking youth coalition by visiting www.standaz.com.
Everyday 2,100 youth and young adults who smoke occasionally graduate to be daily smokers. Thirty percent of teen smokers will die early from a smoking-related disease. Tobacco is still the number one cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States, with smokers having a death rate three times higher than those who never smoked.
