Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.
XPOZ, a group of Las Vegas youths 16 to 20 years of age, was honored this month as the Youth Advocate of the Year Group by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Started in 2000 by 29 local youths, XPOZ and other Nevada anti-tobacco groups have grown so that they now account for more than 2,500 teenagers.
In two years they have helped reduce the Clark County smoking rate among teens from 33 percent to 25 percent in a state that has one of the highest rates of smoking and diseases caused by smoke in the country.
In Nevada 25 percent of the state's high school students smoke. Another 6,600 children become daily smokers every year, a third of whom will die prematurely as a result. Smoking-related health care costs Nevada and its taxpayers $440 million a year, according to the group.
The Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition also recognized XPOZ with an award for excellence in tobacco prevention in both 2000 and 2001. XPOZ has also been honored with the Youth Leadership Las Vegas Appreciation Award in 2001 and the Clark County Public Health Hero Award in 2002.
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