“Cool to Be Tobacco-Free” Program Launches on IndieGogo

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- LOS ANGELES, CA – October 24, 2013.

Producers of a unique smoking prevention program are launching an ambitious campaign to get the program into 1,000 schools. The message going out to young people across America – it’s “cool to be tobacco-free.”

Supporters of the campaign can donate as little as $5 and can choose from an array of terrific rewards based on the amount they pledge. For a donation of $35, the Program will be distributed free of charge to a school designated by the donor and gifted in his/her name.

A whopping 90% of smokers start before they turn 18. “Our vision,” says Director Stephen Messer, “was to produce a short dramatic film that gets young people to understand for themselves, on a gut level, the ultimate cost of smoking. And since 4000 American kids light up for the first time each day, it's clear whom we need to reach.”

The film has been warmly received at festivals in the US and abroad. Michael Thun, MD, of the American Cancer Society, notes: “This film has the potential to open kids’ minds to the emotional costs of smoking at a stage when they can still hear this lifesaving message.”

An innovative curriculum was developed that reinforces the themes of the film with discussions, activities, and the film’s soundtrack. Says Producer Felice Bassuk, “Students learn how tobacco addiction happens, how the media lures young people to start, and how to stand strong in the face of peer pressure. They learn it’s ‘cool to be tobacco-free.’”
Heart and soul were etched into this project, which was largely self-funded and produced with the highest standards. But as Messer says, “The reward for all this fun and extremely hard work is that the message of The Call is one that will reach out far  longer than the film itself.”
For more information about the Program and campaign, go to: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-call-cool-to-be-tobacco-free