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Copy and paste the activity text into a document of your own to use as a guide while you facilitate the activity within your community or organization.

Graffiti (or Pledge) Wall

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Summary

Are you sick of Big Tobacco’s lies and manipulation? Get your thoughts out on paper… lots of paper! Create a long paper banner and cover it with anti-tobacco graffiti. This activity give students a fun opportunity to show support for your tobacco-free campus policy. Show your School Board that you want your school campus to be tobacco-free 24/7!

Goals and Outcomes

  • Increase tobacco awareness
  • Increase support for tobacco-free schools and campus

Estimated Cost

$10–$60

Materials

Long poster paper roll or banner paper, markers, tape (check to make sure your building doesn’t have restrictions on the type of tape you use).

Description

Over 480,000 people die each year in the U.S. from this deadly addiction. That’s one death every 66 seconds—all day, every day. Worldwide nearly 7 million people die each year—that’s one death every 4.5 seconds! Still need convincing? Smoking kills more people than AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides COMBINED.

Studies show that more than 70-percent of smokers want to quit, so there’s a good chance you know someone who is trying to quit, or has tried in the past. Have you ever wanted a place to show your support to those trying to quit tobacco or share your knowledge about tobacco products? You can use a Graffiti or Pledge Wall any day to help others. It can even be used during days like Taking Down Tobacco Day! Let’s see the different ways you can implement this activity:

  • Do you have a parent, grandparent, friend, or other loved one who uses tobacco or nicotine products? You can use the Graffiti or Pledge Wall as an opportunity to help them quit. Organize a pledge wall at your school or community center for people to pledge to help their loved ones quit or to encourage those who use tobacco/nicotine products to quit. Or better yet use the pledge wall as a way for youth to pledge to be tobacco free!
  • Educate! Attach the paper to the wall and cover it with anti-tobacco graffiti, facts, and encouragement for quitting.
  • Have you lost a loved one to tobacco-related disease? Use Take Down Tobacco Day as an opportunity to honor those who have lost their lives because of tobacco use and to send a message to the tobacco industry. Organize a memorial and have participants gather messages in memory of loved ones lost and tell the tobacco industry to stop targeting kids as “replacement customers.”

Day of Event

  • Set up materials such as markers or other art supplies, pledge cards, and memorial props such as candles, flowers, and pictures.
  • On the Graffiti Wall write your message. For example, you could write a large phrase such as, “Hello, Big Tobacco from the Youth of (insert your town/group here)!”
  • Provide instructions on what you want people to write on the wall.
    • For the Pledge Wall, instruct participants to fill out the pledge cards you provide and attach them to the wall. Consider collecting pledges before the actual event. Encourage everyone at your school or community center to sign the Pledge Wall if they know someone who uses tobacco or nicotine products and are ready to help him/her quit. You can also use the Pledge Wall to have youth pledge that they will not use tobacco.
    • Ask everyone to write their personal feelings, fact, draw a graphic, or share stories about tobacco on the Pledge Wall. You can also write words of encouragement for those trying to quit!
    • For a Memorial Wall ask people to leave a tribute to a loved one or a message to Big Tobacco.
  • During your event, have people hand out flyers and other information about resources for those looking to quit. You can also create memorial cards that double as tribute cards and a message to Big Tobacco.
  • At the end of the day, present the finished product to your audience and participants.
  • Take lots of pictures and pass them on to your local paper to let others know about your efforts. You can also post them on your social media!

Follow-Up

Don’t throw away your wall. Instead, carefully take the paper off the wall and arrange to present it to your elected officials or those who make decisions. If you can’t present the actual wall take photos and send them, along with a description of your event, to them. You may also be able to keep the wall up in your school or community center for the whole month of Take Down Tobacco Day, to serve as a constant reminder of the dangers of tobacco use.

Other Ideas

  • Ring a bell or a gong every 66 seconds to signify another tobacco-related death.

Timeline

2–3 weeks

Anytime of year works for this event. Surrounding it around days like Taking Down Tobacco can help to gain interest.


Keep exploring the tobacco toolkit