The RAT^® Program 

RAT^® (Reject All Tobacco), is the only tobacco-free campaign in the country created especially for children in grades K-6. At this age, studies showed that kids love to get facts and “teach up” to the adults in their lives.

RAT^® is geared toward giving them all the facts about big bad tobacco. RAT^® also aims to change children’s attitudes about tobacco before they reach the age of experimenting with cigarettes, chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

What is RAT^®?

The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi's K-6th grade tobacco prevention program is RAT^® (Reject all Tobacco). This program empowers youth to make healthy lifestyle decisions by educating them on the dangers of tobacco, and alternative tobacco products.

 

The RAT^® Program consists of four components

 

Rat^® Packs

The RAT^® Pack is a nine-member team of high school students who are trained to educated on tobacco prevention. RAT^® Packs travel and perform RAT^® shows and educational presentations at Mississippi Elementary Schools.

RAT^® Shows 

The centerpiece of the RAT^® program is the RAT^® Pack Show, a live troupe of singing and dancing Mississippi high school students led by a computer animated rat named Terrance. K-6th grade audiences get to dance and sing along with Terrance and his crew.

RAT^® Educational Presentations 

The RAT^® Packs can also come to your K-6 th grade classrooms to present small-group educational sessions on the dangers and harmful effects of all tobacco.

RAT^® Teams

RAT^® Teams are a group of community and school-based elementary youth that provide tobacco education through a variety of classroom lessons, as well as projects conducted in after-school settings.