Article: We the people have voices heard Citizens lobby lawmakers on smoking, early release; for prisoners, new logo

West Allis -- Last month, teenager Marco Lira of Milwaukee found a group of 8-year-olds smoking a block from his house.

Lira -- a member of the student group Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco, or FACT -- asked them why they were smoking. Most looked away, but one told him: "Because it's cool."

"When I heard those words, I wanted to laugh and scream at the same time," Lira told the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee Wednesday. "My brother is 6. When he turns 8, I don't want him to follow the same path."

Lira was joined by a score of middle and high school students urging the committee to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places and raise the cigarette tax by 75 cents a ...

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