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Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Honors Hyacynth Dixon of Dorchester, MA, As Youth Advocate of the Year 

Hyacynth Dixon, 15, of Dorchester, Mass., has been named the East Regional Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for her leadership in the fight against tobacco. Hyacynth is being honored at a gala in the nation's capital tonight (May 6) along with a national winner, three other regional winners and a group winner.

Hyacynth takes seriously the role of educating others about Big Tobacco and its harmful practices. In 2008, she and fellow members of the group BOLD Teens Against Tobacco played an active role in getting Boston to become one of the first cities to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies. Hyacynth and other BOLD teens wrote letters to the editor, held protests in front of pharmacies and met with the Boston Public Health Commission numerous times, culminating in approval of Boston's new regulation. Hyacynth also called attention to the need for FDA regulation of tobacco products by organizing a warning label project designed to educate the community about what is in a cigarette. Hyacynth is currently working to improve enforcement of a Boston law that limits the amount of window advertising allowed in stores.

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