In a post-TRUTH era, where every facet of media, albeit print or broadcast, is still littered with snazzy and often subliminal advertising promoting tobacco use, the process of differentiating between fact and fiction is anything but trivial. That’s where members
In a post-TRUTH era, where every facet of media, albeit print or broadcast, is still littered with snazzy and often subliminal advertising promoting tobacco use, the process of differentiating between fact and fiction is anything but trivial.
That’s where members of REAL step in.
Comprised of over 2,000 youth throughout Hawai‘i, including over 500 on Kaua‘i, REAL is more than just an acronym or another fad.
REAL members are part of an anti-tobacco activist group, dedicated to revealing the stark truths about tobacco promotion and its effects on the industry’s target demographic, the youth, REAL members said.
What started out as a single mission to expose and stop leaders in the tobacco industry from manipulation of the young generation among 15 Hawai‘i high school students five years ago has exploded into a cultural phenomenon, a thriving coalition.
According to Kaua‘i board member Sheryll Yotsuda, there are 500 or more REAL members on Kaua‘i alone, most of them recruited through peers and adult leaders in their high school Peer Education Program (PEP).
Many see this as a surprising statistic, considering that there is currently no island youth coordinator readily available to man member activities and updates.
“Although we do not have an island coordinator as of now, we three (Kaua‘i board members) take care of letting people know the latest news and updates,” asserted Yotsuda. “We are in the process of looking for a coordinator, and hope to find someone, an adult, age 23 or older, to fill that position.”
At the head of the REAL team are adult staff members David O’Riordian, Nicole Sutton and Pedro Haro. “Nicole, who works at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Cancer Research Center, REAL’s headquarters, is REAL’s project coordinator,” said Yotsuda.
“She has a lot on her hands, and is assisted by both David and Pedro. In fact, she’s the staff member who calls all of the board members monthly, or whenever there is an important event and makes sure that all is well and progressing with each of us,” she said.
“What’s neat, though, is that the board members have these things called conference calls, where we call a certain number and dial an extension number of another member or members to which our calls are linked, so that we can all be in on a conversation, similar to a conference,” continued Yotsuda.
“We usually have conference calls right after Nicole informs us of the latest updates going on. It makes communication between members of different islands convenient and fun.”
Yotsuda, a recent Kapa‘a High School graduate and two-year member, is serving her first year on the board.
“I joined REAL on the recommendation of a friend who was on the board. She talked to me about it, and it seemed like fun, so I became a member,” said Yotsuda.
“I also was familiar with the program thorough the PEP at my high school, which was sadly cut my senior year, due to a lack of funds. However, a lot of Kapa‘a High School students are REAL members, and have friends who are interested in joining.”
As one of their various activities, REAL members participated in Kapa‘a High School’s “Kick Butts Day,” an anti-smoking event, complete with anti-tobacco activities and information booths.
“REAL created a huge banner, which displayed over 1,000 photos of local people, to represent how many people die each year from tobacco use in Hawai‘i alone,” noted Yotsuda.
“They chose to post pictures of people of mixed descent, so that students could identify that they could be a statistic as well anyone that they see on national television or ads. There was great response to the banner, which provided us with a great opportunity to recruit more members.”
Monthly meetings are held in order to plan upcoming events and activities. “Our monthly meetings are held on O‘ahu, usually at UH or Jamba Juice, or wherever it is easiest for everyone to meet,” maintained Yotsuda.
“A typical meeting lasts from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with breaks in between, of course. They feed us breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Having the meetings on O‘ahu is great as an outer-island board member, because REAL takes care of airfare and accommodations,” she said.
“Our most current project is a public-service announcement which is to air on Oceanic Cable, channel 16 (OC16),” expressed Yotsuda. “The commercial, which was filmed six months ago, talks about the tobacco industry’s target being the minority youth, the Asian Pacific Islander, in the age 11 to 17 group. It is now in the stages of production, and will hopefully be aired soon,” she said.
“We are also thinking about having an anti-tobacco summit,” resumed Yotsuda. “It would be held at a hotel on O‘ahu, although we’re not quite sure which hotel. But the summit would be free and lots of fun. We are planning to have a variety of guest speakers, entertainers, and information available to interested attendees and members,” she explained.
“Although we aren’t even sure when the summit is going to take place, we do know that it is a definite priority on our list of future events.”
Although Yotsuda admits that there are a lot more REAL activities and events, such as free music concerts, available on O‘ahu, then there are on Kaua‘i, she does mention that there are a host of different events that have and will take place on Kaua‘i.
“So far, we’ve given a variety of presentations to elementary-, middle-, and high-school students,” mentioned Yotsuda. “And we’ll help if there’s a ‘Kick Butts Day,’ like how we did at Kapa‘a High School. We are also going to be helping out at the Kauai (County) Farm Bureau Fair this year, helping in the (state) Department of Health booth,” she added.
“And, of course, the passing out of free gear, apparel and other goodies with the REAL logo and the word “Untouchable” (from tobacco companies), this year’s theme, on them.
“The great thing about REAL is that everything is free. It doesn’t cost anything to be a member, there’s free gear, and if you’re a board member, they pay for your accommodations to special events, like meetings, and the protest in New Jersey,” Yotsuda elaborated.
“At the beginning of this summer, REAL paid a portion of the way and a week’s worth of accommodations for several board members to participate in a protest outside the Philip Morris headquarters,” claimed Yotsuda. “There were a handful of REAL members from Kaua‘i who participated in the demonstration. I wasn’t one of them, but I know that the protest was a successful one.
“Overall, I am glad to say that I am a part of REAL,” beamed Yotsuda. “I wanted to do something worthwhile, help people, get the truth out, and even try to get some of my family members to quit their use of tobacco. Even though I have yet to accomplish my last goal, the rest look promising.
“It’s too bad, though, that I can only be a board member up until the age of 20 (REAL’s rules), but I’ll keep fighting tobacco usage for as long as I can.”
REAL is headquartered at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Cancer Research Center, at 1960 East West Road, Biomedical Sciences Building C-105, Honolulu, HI 96822. For more information or to join REAL, please call 1-808-441-8195, e-mail real@crch.hawaii.edu, or visit www.thereal message.net.
