Flip trick

Leonard Madore, 15, performs a skateboarding trick during Go Skateboarding Day at Minnow Lake Skate Park Saturday. Peer leaders from kNow, the Sudbury Youth Alliance (YAA), were present to raise awareness about the marketing strategies used by the tobacco industry to target youth. The group is led by the Sudbury & District Health Unit.

“Go Skateboarding Day is a great opportunity for us to advocate to our peers about how the tobacco industry targets them. Combining education about tobacco with something fun like skateboarding is a perfect way to get youth involved,” said Mianda Thwaites, a peer leader with kNOw, in a release.

One of the ways the tobacco industry targets youth is by associating sports and recreation with tobacco products, the release said. According to the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (2006), tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke accounts for 13,000 deaths in Ontario each year.