Cannon County youth attend TNSTRONG summit

Cannon County youth joined approximately 300 youth across the state at the three-day TNSTRONG or Tennessee Stop Tobacco and Revolutionize Our New Generation Youth Summit held in Murfreesboro. Attendees heard from leading tobacco prevention experts in addition to networking with peers. The purpose of the conference was to equip youth with leadership skills to reach their peers on the dangers of tobacco use including electronic nicotine delivery systems such as Juuls.

Over the three-day conference, the chaperones and youth had the privilege to hear nationally acclaimed groups such as Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, TRUTH Initiative and Dover Youth from New Hampshire. The attendees also heard from Tennessee Tobacco Use Prevention Experts on policy change and project based learning.

"The conference taught us a great deal about the dangers of tobacco. It also allowed us to have endless amounts of fun. I can't wait until next year." said Rena House, Chaperone.

In 2016, the first youth summit was held in Tennessee. At this conference, TNSTRONG was created. Youth developed the acronym for Tennessee Stop Tobacco and Revolutionize Our New Generation. The mission of TNSTRONG is to inspire and prepare Tennessee students to create a tobacco-free tomorrow. For more information on TNSTRONG, please contact Kaitlin Patterson, Health Educator at 615-563-4243 or Kaitlin.Patterson@tn.gov.