CHICAGO, August 13 — Oral Health America (OHA) is proud to announce 12-year-old Brexton Clubb from Peoria, AZ as the winner of the 14thAnnual NSTEP® (National Spit Tobacco Education Project) Slogan Contest. Brexton’s winning slogan, “Run bases, catch balls. Chew tobacco and risk it all!”, will be featured during the 10-day Little League Baseball® World Series in Williamsport, PA, to educate players and families about the dangers of spit tobacco.
Teaming up with Little League® Baseball and Softball, the annual contest calls on players ages 8-14 to create a compelling ten-word phrase describing the dangers of spit tobacco for a chance to win a trip to the Little League Baseball® World Series and a cash prize.
“We’re a huge baseball family and Brexton plays baseball year-round,” said Brexton’s father Robert Clubb. “We watch the Little League World Series every year, so we’re very excited to be able to go.”
“I decided to enter the contest because most of my friends were doing it and just started thinking about the basics of baseball and mixing tobacco into that,” said Brexton, who typically plays third base for his team. “When they told me I won, I couldn’t believe it. I was so surprised and happy and jumping up and down.”
In addition to its long history with baseball, spit tobacco disproportionately impacts young people, with 46 percent of new users starting before the age of 18. With direct ties to cancer, tooth loss and tooth decay, it is more important than ever that young Americans understand that smokeless isn’t harmless.
“For more than 20 years OHA has educated Americans through NSTEP about the dangers of spit tobacco,” said OHA President and CEO Beth Truett. “We are honored to continue our partnership with Little League to prevent young people from starting to use spit tobacco and thank Brexton for his role in helping us reach thousands of families with this important message.”
For winning the contest, Brexton will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Little League World Series, where he will throw out the first pitch during a game. In addition, OHA will donate $500 to Brexton's local Little League organization.
About Little League Baseball and Softball
Little League Baseball and Softball is the world's largest youth sports program, with nearly 2.4 million players and one million volunteers in every U.S. state and scores of other countries. For more information, visit https://www.littleleague.org.
