R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company P.O. Box 2959 Winston-Salem, NC 27102 Contact: Media:

Jane Seccombe
(336) 741-5068

RJRT 2014-04 Youth tobacco prevention program partners with National School Boards Association

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Oct. 9, 2014 - The http://www.rightdecisionsrightnow.com/Right Decisions Right Now(RDRN) youth tobacco prevention program has partnered with the http://www.nsba.org/National School Boards Associationin a joint effort to convey a strong and effective anti-tobacco use message to more teens.
RDRN, which is funded by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, is a successful, evidence- based curriculum designed to educate middle-school students about the dangers of tobacco use and offers ways for them to lead a healthy lifestyle. The online program is available
free of charge to educators, as well as parents and youth-focused community groups.
"Schools clearly can and do play a role in catching young people before they start smoking by educating them on the dangers of tobacco use," said Tom Gentzel, the association's executive director.
Laura Leigh Oyler, who leads the Reynolds companies' youth tobacco prevention efforts, said that RDRN aims to increase awareness and educators' use of the program through its partnership with the association.
"Evidence-based programs like ours are very important in the fight against youth tobacco use, and I'd like to see RDRN in every health class in the country," Oyler said. "This program speaks to teens in a way that makes sense to them, and it teaches them about self-esteem and ways to say no."
Aligned with Common Core Standards, RDRN offers grade-specific activities, videos and posters, some of which are also available in Spanish. It includes parent information sheets so families can follow up and reinforce the program's "Be Tobacco-Free" message.
More than 20,000 schools have used RDRN. The program is also used by groups such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Crosby Scholars Program and Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
R.J. Reynolds, a subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., is guided by the belief that minors should never use tobacco in any form, and has made youth tobacco prevention a core part of its strategy to help transform the tobacco industry. In addition to funding the

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independently-developed RDRN program, R.J. Reynolds supports efforts to strengthen youth tobacco control laws, including combating youth use of nicotine-based e-cigarettes.
In addition to the partnership with the National School Boards Association, RDRN and the company's other youth tobacco prevention initiatives have received strong support from the National Foundation For Women Legislators.
The http://www.nsba.org/National School Boards Association(NSBA) is the leading advocate for public education and supports equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. NSBA represents state school boards associations and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, an indirect subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States. To learn more about

how Reynolds American and its operating companies are transforming the tobacco industry, visit http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/transforming-landing.cfmTransforming Tobacco.

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