1996 Youth Advocate of the Year Anna Santiago

he national winner of the 1996 CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS Youth Advocate of the Year Award was Anna Santiago, a 14-year-old resident of Highland Park, Illinois. Anna led her classmates in successfully lobbying the Highland Park City Council to unanimously pass an ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors. She also discussed teen tobacco use with both state and federal legislators, and was successful in convincing Congressman John Porter to sign the CAMPAIGN's and the Coalition on Smoking OR Health's "Commitment to Children," a pledge that supports the common-sense goal of decreasing tobacco use by children and opposes efforts to enact legislation that would weaken the FDA Rule.

As the national youth advocate, Anna had many opportunities to represent the CAMPAIGN throughout the year. She served as a spokesperson at press events and conducted interviews with national and local news media; and shared her views on the tobacco industry's skill at marketing their products to kids by speaking at a New York City luncheon for publishers and editors of women's and teen's magazines. Profiles on Anna have appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and other magazines for children.

The highlights of Anna's tenure include her participation at two White House events. In August 1996, she stood with President Clinton at a Rose Garden ceremony for the historic announcement of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule to combat teen smoking. On February 28th 1997, Anna introduced the President at an event, carried live on CNN, to announce the implementation of the first provision of the FDA rule requiring photo identification for the purchase of all tobacco products.