1998 Award Winners National Winner East Mid-West Central South West Group Award

Emily Broxterman, a 16-year-old 10th grader from Overland Park, Kansas, is the National Winner of the CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS’ 1998 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards. Emily was the Midwest region winner in 1997. The nationwide competition recognizes outstanding youth advocacy efforts by young tobacco control activists. Emily received her national title in Washington, DC on April 30, 1998.

Emily has aggressively lobbied her state legislature and played a major role in ensuring passage of a bill to restrict youth access to tobacco products. The bill sets a precedent for other states and is one of only a handful of similar initiatives in the United States. She has also organized the annual Smoke-Free Teens Are Rising (STAR) rally, a day-long event in Topeka centered around educating youth about the legislative process and the life-threatening hazards of tobacco use. In addition, the young activist played a key role in KSKI’s (Kansas Smokeless Kids Initiative) sponsorship of an anti-tobacco racing team in Topeka’s 1997 Sports Car Club of America World Challenge Series. Emily has recently started working with local merchants to raise awareness of the accessibility of tobacco products to Kansas youth, and continues to visit schools to counsel her peers about the dangers of tobacco use.

Emily has earned much recognition for her initiative and dedication to tobacco control efforts. She has been a Kansas Youth Ambassador for the Smoke-Free Class of 2000 since 1995, and was honored by the Kansas Division of the American Lung Association with an Outstanding Public Affairs Advocate Award in 1996.