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National Consumers League disappointed by DC City Council’s overturning of popular vote

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October 4, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) is deeply disappointed by the DC City Council’s vote to overturn a ballot measure voters approved in June to raise the minimum wage for restaurant servers and other tipped workers in the District of Columbia.

On Tuesday, the city council voted 8 to 5 in favor of repealing the measure, and now it’s up to Mayor Muriel Bowser to either veto or sign the bill. In the past, Bowser has expressed opposition to Initiative 77. The initiative requires DC businesses to eventually pay the full $15 local minimum wage to restaurant servers, bartenders, valets, and other workers who earn most of their income from customers’ tips.

“Abolishing a low minimum wage for tipped workers would give a much-needed boost to low-income families who barely earn enough to make ends meet,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. The national consumer and worker advocacy organization is headquartered in Washington, DC, where some of its staff has been involved in advocacy efforts to ensure that DC residents’ voices were heard on the issue.

Businesses in the city can currently pay tipped workers as little as $3.89 per hour as long as workers make enough money in tips to earn the full minimum wage. (The city’s regular minimum wage is currently $13.25 but will reach $15 by 2020.) If their tips aren’t enough, employers are supposed to pay the difference.

Despite being approved by voters in the June primary, the measure sparked fierce opposition from the local restaurant industry, which claimed that such a move would drive away small businesses and force restaurants to slash jobs.

Despite all the hype surrounding the potential negative impacts of Initiative 77, it’s unlikely to have drastic consequences. Based on available research, customers would likely pay a little more for their meals and tip slightly less. However, workers would see a modest income boost, which would help DC’s most vulnerable communities become less financially fragile.

“The fate of Initiative 77 represents a crucial test for the national movement to raise wages for low-wage workers,” said Greenberg. “Prospects may be bleak for this voter-approved ballot initiative, but our fight for equitable wages will continue.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League applauds Amazon’s commitment to increasing minimum wage

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October 3, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) today applauded Amazon’s decision to provide a $15 minimum wage for all employees, including associates employed by temporary agencies. The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“We laud Amazon, a very large and influential company for its leadership. This decision affects more than 250,000 Amazon employees, as well as more than 100,000 seasonal holiday employees. The increase will be a boon to workers’ families. We want specifically to thank Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, not only for his leadership at Amazon, but for encouraging Amazon’s competitors and other large employers to ‘join us’ in increasing minimum wages across the board.

“NCL’s early leaders wrote some of the first minimum wage laws in the United States, so this is of particular significance to us. We are especially gratified to learn that Amazon will join the call for increasing the federal minimum wage, which has been stagnant since 2009 at a paltry $7.25 an hour.  This campaign needs the boost that Amazon’s support will provide.

“Thanks as well to Jay Carney, Amazon’s senior vice president of Amazon Global Corporate Affairs, for his remarks underscoring the impact of a minimum wage increase across America. It will indeed have a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people and families across this country, whose hard work and many hours on the job yields far less than a livable wage at current levels.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts launches 25th anniversary season of consumer literacy education, competition, scholarship opportunities

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September 27, 2018

1.5 million students have gained real-world knowledge through the program

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–Today marks the official launch of the 25th season of LifeSmarts, with a new competition going live at the online home of the program, LifeSmarts.org. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), is a national scholarship competition and educational program for middle-school and high-school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and aims to create a future generation of consumer-savvy adults.

“We are very excited to launch our 25th season of LifeSmarts,” said national Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “For 25 years, LifeSmarts has given students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We’ve seen more than 1.5 million students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership capabilities, and team-building skills. The competition is fun, and the impact of LifeSmarts is lifelong.”

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, health and safety, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2019 National LifeSmarts Championship will take place April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. Winning team members receive scholarships and other prizes.

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. By being consumer savvy and quick on the buzzers, the LifeSmarts team from Dallas High School in Dallas, PA, took home top honors at the 24th annual national event in San Diego. Dallas High was a returning champion, taking home the national title three years in a row.

In addition to online, state, and national competitions, LifeSmarts recognition and awards occur throughout the program year:

  • Teams of students vie for cash prizes in the online TeamSmarts quiz, which focuses on a specific LifeSmarts content area each month from September through January.
  • Classroom mentor programs: Five $1,000 scholarships are awarded each winter to winning LifeSmarts students who become Safety Smart Ambassadors, using LifeSmarts content to present safety messages to younger children in their communities.
  • Partnering with FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), LifeSmarts offers special competitive events for student members of both student leadership organizations. FBLA and FCCLA team members have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, trophies, and other honors.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

“We are proud of the impact LifeSmarts has made in its 25 years of educating teens, and we are excited to continue to grow the LifeSmarts program, to educate students about financial literacy, and to create a new generation of savvy, market-ready consumers and workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Too often traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information that will be crucial once students go to college, get their first job, or move out of their parents’ house.”

In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for educators to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, social media competitions, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in family and consumer sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.

Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Johnson & Johnson, Underwriters Laboratories, Western Union, Comcast NBC Universal, Experian, Intuit, American Express Company, Microsoft, and others.

Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information.

LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at (202) 835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

 

NCL statement on FDA’s draft rule to publicize the identity of food retail consignees following Class I recall

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September 26, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League commends Commissioner Scott Gottleib, MD, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for releasing a draft rule on September 26, 2018, that would publicize the names and locations of food retail consignee (i.e., establishment) that have issued a recall due to a food safety risk or the confirmed presence of a food contaminant. Previously, FDA has worked with companies to identify the specific contaminated product or brand, but has refrained from publicizing food distribution or retail information such as store names and locations due to commercial confidentiality concerns. Today’s move represents a step forward for consumers, removing the information burden previously placed onto consumers wishing to protect themselves and their families from contaminated food.

While the rule represents a good first step, NCL believes the FDA could go further in what the rule will cover. For instance, FDA should publicize the retail establishments for all recalls, not only Class I (serious injury or death), as the rule is currently written. The other two classes of recalls, Class II (serious injury or temporary illness), and Class III (unlikely to cause illness or injury but violate federal rules), should also be included in this rule. Further, FDA should include restaurants in the types of retail consignees covered in the draft rule. Currently, it covers grocery stores, pet food stores, and convenience stores that can receive orders in store or online, as well as direct delivery or third-party delivery service.

NCL commends FDA for this effort. The draft rule is open to public comments for 60 days, after which the Administration will evaluate consumer and retailer feedback, issuing proposed guidance.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

FAA reauthorization bill is a missed opportunity to address add-on fees

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September 22, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today expressed disappointment about the lack of any language addressing anticompetitive add-on fees in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization conference bill released by Congress early this morning.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“The airlines’ outrageous $200 change and cancellation fees are but one egregious example of the fees and penalties that line the industry’s pockets while costing flyers billions of dollars every year. While there are some things that will benefit consumers in the FAA reauthorization bill, the glaring lack of the bipartisan FAIR Fees Act language is a missed opportunity for Congress to get a handle on the rampant growth of anti-competitive ancillary fees that result in so much consumer aggravation. The airlines’ tone-deafness in this area — witness American, Delta, United, and JetBlue all raising bag fees to $30 per bag within weeks of one another this summer — should make it obvious that they will continue to raise fees with impunity until Congress steps in.

We applaud the efforts of a bipartisan group of members of Congress, particularly Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN9), and Representative Walter Jones (R-NC3), who worked diligently, albeit unsuccessfully, to get the FAIR Fees Act language included in the final conference agreement.

While this is a setback for the flying public, NCL will continue to work with consumer champions in Congress and elsewhere to raise awareness of the costs of airline nickel-and-diming on flyers, competition, and airport investment. This is not an issue that is going to go away. The airlines should expect that NCL and our allies will continue to highlight the industry’s mistreatment of their customers at every turn.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts launches 25th anniversary season of consumer literacy education, competition, scholarship opportunities – National Consumers League

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September 17, 2018

1.5 million students have gained real-world knowledge through the program

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC–Today marks the official launch of the 25th season of LifeSmarts, with a new competition going live at the online home of the program, LifeSmarts.org. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), is a national scholarship competition and educational program for middle-school and high-school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and aims to create a future generation of consumer-savvy adults.

“We are very excited to launch our 25th season of LifeSmarts,” said national Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “For 25 years, LifeSmarts has given students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We’ve seen more than 1.5 million students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership capabilities, and team-building skills. The competition is fun, and the impact of LifeSmarts is lifelong.”

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, health and safety, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2019 National LifeSmarts Championship will take place April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. Winning team members receive scholarships and other prizes.

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. By being consumer savvy and quick on the buzzers, the LifeSmarts team from Dallas High School in Dallas, PA, took home top honors at the 24th annual national event in San Diego. Dallas High was a returning champion, taking home the national title three years in a row.

In addition to online, state, and national competitions, LifeSmarts recognition and awards occur throughout the program year:

  • Teams of students vie for cash prizes in the online TeamSmarts quiz, which focuses on a specific LifeSmarts content area each month from September through January.
  • Classroom mentor programs: Five $1,000 scholarships are awarded each winter to winning LifeSmarts students who become Safety Smart Ambassadors, using LifeSmarts content to present safety messages to younger children in their communities.
  • Partnering with FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), LifeSmarts offers special competitive events for student members of both student leadership organizations. FBLA and FCCLA team members have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, trophies, and other honors.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

“We are proud of the impact LifeSmarts has made in its 25 years of educating teens, and we are excited to continue to grow the LifeSmarts program, to educate students about financial literacy, and to create a new generation of savvy, market-ready consumers and workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Too often traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information that will be crucial once students go to college, get their first job, or move out of their parents’ house.”

In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for educators to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, social media competitions, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in family and consumer sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.

Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Johnson & Johnson, Underwriters Laboratories, Western Union, Comcast NBC Universal, Experian, Intuit, American Express Company, Microsoft, and others.

Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information.

LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL joins amicus brief to protect cy pres settlements – National Consumers League

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September 5, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—In advance of a scheduled October 31 United States Supreme Court hearing of Frank v. Gaos, the National Consumers League has joined with the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to file an amicus brief in support for the judicial practice of awarding cy pres grants to charities and nonprofits in class-action settlement.

The case to be heard by the court questions the following: Whether awarding the majority of the proceeds from a class action to charities and nonprofits (known as a cy pres award), with no direct relief to members of the class, is consistent with the requirement that a settlement binding class members be “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

In the amicus brief filed today, the organizations argue that the cy pres doctrine does, in fact, ensure that awards benefit class members by aggregating cost-prohibitively small individual payments for the greater good and by promoting the interests of the class rather than the defendant. Contrary to petitioners’ claims, the advocates recognize that cy pres grants are a well-established legal precedent that allow proceeds from class-action awards that might otherwise revert to companies that wrong consumers to instead be put to use by organizations that further the public interest.

“Cy pres awards are a critical way to make sure industry is held accountable when consumers are wronged,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “In cases where individual class members’ payouts may not even exceed the price of a stamp, cy pres grants to advocacy organizations ensure that class-actions can continue to be a check on industry misdeeds.”

Read the brief here (PDF).

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL statement on CFPB student loan watchdog chief’s protest resignation

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August 28, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Seth Frotman announced his resignation as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Student Loan Ombudsman. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League:

“Every day Seth Frotman went to work, he valiantly fought for the 44 million Americans that are struggling with student loan debt. As Frotman wrote in his resignation letter, the Bureau under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney has abandoned its Congressionally-mandated mission to protect consumers from predatory lenders. Instead, current CFPB leadership seems to believe that its goal is to empower some of the most powerful financial interests in America to continue victimizing vulnerable students.

“Unfortunately for consumers, Frotman’s assessment of Mulvaney’s tenure is spot-on. Making matters worse, the current nominee to become the permanent CFPB Director, Kathleen Kraninger, has given every indication that she will continue Mulvaney’s work to undermine the CFPB’s ability to protect consumers. NCL urges Congress to only confirm a CFPB director who will fulfill the intent of Congress for the Bureau to protect consumers.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Senators Duckworth, Markey to receive highest honor from nation’s pioneering consumer watchdog org – National Consumers League

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August 21, 2018

Identity Theft Resource Center’s Velasquez to be honored with Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, has announced it will honor Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, on Tuesday, October 16 in Washington, DC.

This year marks the 45th anniversary year of the Trumpeter Award, which honors leaders in the fight for consumer and worker rights. Past honorees include: Senator Ted Kennedy, the award’s inaugural recipient, as well as Labor Secretaries Hilda Solis, Robert Reich, and Alexis Herman, Senators Carl Levin and Paul Wellstone, Delores Huerta of the United Farm Workers, and other honored consumer and labor leaders. Last year’s recipients were the legendary social justice leader Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and then-Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray.

The Trumpeter Award is given to leaders who have dedicated their lives to social justice and to fighting for those who cannot defend themselves. This year’s Trumpeter recipients, Senators Tammy Duckworth and Ed Markey will join this esteemed group as true American heroes.

“Senator Tammy Duckworth embodies America’s best values throughout her career, as an Iraq War Veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “She is an inspirational leader and justice-minded policymaker on civil rights, standing up for immigrants and veterans, and speaking out on behalf of consumers on healthcare and justice reform. We are thrilled to honor her this October with this historic award.”

“For nearly five decades, Senator Markey’s leadership has been a model for Americans of all generations,” said Greenberg. “Whether on issues dealing with commerce, protecting the environment, or in defense of privacy, healthcare, and cybersecurity, Markey’s commitment to policy that serves consumers and workers is exemplary.”

In addition to the Trumpeter Award, NCL will the honor the recipient of this year’s Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award: Eva Casey Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

“Eva Casey Velasquez’s leadership at the Identity Theft Resource Center and her commitment to broadening public education and awareness about important issues that affect almost every consumer have earned her this honor,” said John Breyault, NCL vice president on public policy, telecommunications and fraud. “Eva’s work has helped to put consumers at the center of ID theft prevention, and we are delighted to present her with this award to honor her commitment to consumer education and protection.”

This year’s Trumpeter Awards will feature a reception, dinner, and speaking appearances by NCL leadership and the honorees, as well as Maria Cardona, CNN/CNNE Commentator & Principal of Dewey Square Group. To learn more, visit nclnet.org/about-ncl/trumpeter-awards_awards.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts recognizes student scholarship recipients from ‘Year of Health and Safety’ project – National Consumers League

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August 14, 2018

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—LifeSmarts, a national consumer literacy educational program and scholarship opportunity for students in grades 6-12, has announced this year’s student leaders who have been awarded scholarships for their outstanding participation in the LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project, a program offered during LifeSmarts’ Year of Health and Safety.

The OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project was unveiled in 2017 and offered as a community service opportunity to this year’s LifeSmarts participants and was underwritten by a grant from Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Through the program, LifeSmarts provided materials and curriculum, bolstered by educational resources produced by Scholastic, that enabled high school students to become mentors for middle school students to help them understand the wise use and safe storage of over-the-counter medicines.

“We are so pleased with the success of the ‘Year of Health and Safety’ and the OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project,” said national LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We know LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults, and we see students applying what they learn immediately at home and in their communities. We were thrilled to see our students participate in this program and the enthusiasm and creativity they exhibited in serving as student mentors to pre-teens on these crucial health and safety lessons.”

2018 Safety Mentoring Scholarship Winners

More than 500 LifeSmarts students participated in the program making presentations and holding events that reached tens of thousands of middle school students and community members across the country. Student participants submitted applications about their experiences to the National Consumers League. Scholarship criteria included the number of presentations, community impact, and a personal reflective statement, with the winners receiving a $1,000 post-secondary education scholarship. This year’s recipients are:

  • Victoria Lowrance: LaFayette, GA (12th grade)
  • Samantha Martinez: Waterbury, CT (10th grade)
  • Kejsi Ozuni: Waterbury, CT (10th grade)
  • Raymond Perez: Dallas, PA (11th grade)
  • Hannah Wolfe: Dallas, PA (10th grade)

Besides health and safety, LifeSmarts focuses on four other main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship took place April 21-24 in San Diego, where the state champion team from Pennsylvania was declared this year’s national champion team. Scholarship recipients Raymond Perez and Hannah Wolfe were on this year’s national champion team.

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. More than 140,000 students participated in the program in the 2017-18 season. LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

“Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. is proud to be a long-standing supporter of the LifeSmarts program and thrilled about the OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring project. As a manufacturer of over-the-counter medicines, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. believes that the LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentoring Project can help instill a healthy respect for all medicines in adolescents by teaching core concepts on the responsible use and safe storage of medicines. In doing so, we are building a healthier future for our adolescents, and helping to prevent medicine misuse, errors, and adverse events,” said Ed Kuffner M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Johnson & Johnson Consumer.

Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information.

LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at (202) 835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.