Polynesian group aims to help other Pacific islanders

A group of Polynesian youth in Utah County want fellow Pacific islanders to know that when it comes to tobacco advertising, they must not allow themselves to be targeted.

That's the tagline the Pacific Islander Tobacco Network used in the state Health Department's Real Noise anti-tobacco youth advertising contest. The group of about 30 people from ages 8 to 23 designed a poster featuring pictures of themselves in traditional Polynesian clothing and a message affirming their stance against tobacco advertising. The image reinforces the health values of their culture, said Abish Purcell, the Provo High School sophomore who designed the poster.

"There are a lot of Polynesians that are getting targeted with this, and so I thought I'd put the message down in all the different languages," she said.

The group didn't win the statewide competition -- that honor went to Eisenhower Junior High School in Salt Lake City, which came up with a schoolwide game using red cards with tobacco facts -- but its work will still be used by local businesses that Polynesians frequent, said Joyce Ah You, one of the group's adult leaders.

"Our community loves it," she said. "This is our youth. Our youth are making a loud statement."

That's one of the big reasons for the competition, said Lena Dibble of The TRUTH, which worked with the state Health Department to put it together.

"Youth speaking to youth is always more effective than adults talking to youth," she said.

Health statistics may confirm the group's fears about their unique vulnerability to smoking: A study in the January 2006 New England Journal of Medicine reported that lung cancer risks are significantly higher among Hawaiian smokers than white ones.

But in the Polynesian community, tobacco isn't the only concern: A traditional drink called kava is also showing up with increased regularity, said Lauren Folau, a group member and ninth-grader at Oak Canyon Junior High. The drink is legal but has effects similar to alcohol.

"A lot of the Polynesian kids are bringing it to the different schools," she said.

Purcell agreed that kava was a threat equal to tobacco and that both can lead to more-serious addictions.

"It kind of opens other doors," she said.

As much as the ad campaign is a way to communicate with kids, it's equally effective with adults because of where the message is coming from, Ah You said.

"These are our children speaking to us," she said. "It's a strong message to parents."

Mitzy Folau, another adult leader, said the campaign is as much an opportunity to talk about drugs as it is to talk about history.

"This is just another way that we can teach our children our culture," she said.

That's something that's badly needed, said Matt Ah You, a group member and linebacker on the Brigham Young University football team. Ah You, Joyce's son, is dressed as a Polynesian high chief, or community leader, on the poster.

"Polynesians forget their true heritage when they come over here," he said.

For the kids in the group, getting together to talk about serious issues helps overcome feelings that what they're doing could be unpopular among their peers.

"I find strength in it," Lauren Folau said. "If you don't know what to do alone, you can always turn to the rest of the group."

Folau said that since she's been involved with the group, the reactions from her friends have been mixed -- but the most common response is to ask whether you have to be Polynesian to participate.

That's absolutely not the case, Purcell said.

"You don't have to be Polynesian to take a stand," she said. "It just makes our voice louder."