Free Kids Honors #RealTalkTobacco of Philadelphia, Pa.

#RealTalkTobacco wants to make Philadelphia the first city with a youth smoking rate of zero percent. Members of the group, which is part of the Health Promotion Council's Advocacy Institute, have been advocating for tobacco-free pharmacies and a ban on flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, throughout the city. #RealTalkTobacco uses community pop-up events, public service announcements, spoken word poetry and murals to creatively educate their peers about Big Tobacco and advocate for effective policies.

"We are thrilled to honor #RealTalkTobacco as our Group Youth Advocates of the Year," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "These young leaders are standing up to the tobacco industry, inspiring their peers to be tobacco-free and encouraging elected officials to take action. They are helping create the first tobacco-free generation."

Over 400 public health, business, civic and political leaders attended the Youth Advocates of the Year awards ceremony to recognize #RealTalkTobacco and other youth advocates from across the country. The winners received scholarships to continue their tobacco prevention efforts and will serve as youth ambassadors for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, killing over 480,000 Americans and costing the nation $170 billion in health care bills each year. Tobacco kills 7 million people worldwide each year.

In Pennsylvania, tobacco use claims 22,000 lives and costs $6.4 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 12.9 percent of Pennsylvania's high school students smoke and 24.1 percent use e-cigarettes.