Jingles fight tobacco use

Javion Hunt is a smart and self-assured guy who wants no part of cigarette-smoking.

The Tinker Elementary School fourth-grader was one of two winners of the sixth-annual Smoke Free Jingle Contest sponsored by Schools for Healthy Lifestyles and the Oklahoma County Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition.

Hunt’s winning jingle: “You’ll never catch me smoking; my body stays clean ... My name is Javion! And I’m smoke free!”

Peytn Orr won the Washington Irving fourthgrade competition with his jingle: “’Cause smoking isn’t cool no matter what they say and if you smoke I’ll just walk away.”

The boys each won $100, a chance to perform their jingles on local radio and a ride in a limo.

Javion, 10, said he enjoyed working with his godfather, Josh Norman, who played football at the University of Oklahoma with Javion’s dad, Jay Hunt. Norman played in the NFL for several years before embarking on a career as a music producer.

“He told me what smoking does to you, and he told me to listen to the music and see what comes into my mind. He really helped me a lot.”

Javion said it took him a night to come up with the lyrics and another day to learn the song. He plans to use the $100 to help pay for an iPhone.

His parents, Jay and Charita Hunt, are proud of their son’s accomplishment.

“I think he did a good job on it. It’s catchy. All of my friends said they couldn’t get the ‘smoke free’ part of it out of their minds when they listened to it,” Charita Hunt said. His dad wasn’t surprised at his musical ability. “He does well in school and athletically and he loves the Lord,” Jay Hunt said. “For him to venture out and do something for a good cause is great for him.”

According to the Oklahoma County Health Department, every 95 minutes another Oklahoma teen becomes addicted to tobacco.

“The tobacco companies know that if they can get our youth addicted, they are likely to become lifelong customers,” said Tiffany Neil, Oklahoma County Tobacco Use Prevention spokeswoman.

“This jingle contest was a fun and creative way to teach students why they should never start using tobacco.”