Know the facts about smoking
The Great American Smoke out was started in 1971 as a day for smokers to give up smoking for one day. By 1977, the event caught on and it was done nationwide.
Youth can have a great impact for those who smoke. They just have to be given the resources to do it. This year, the Great American Smoke out is Nov. 20. Get youth involved and let their voices be heard.
Eighty-nine percent of people who ever try a cigarette try by age 18. Almost no one starts smoking during adulthood.
The risk of becoming addicted to nicotine is between one in two and one in three. Tobacco is responsible for nearly one in every five deaths in the United States.
More than 400,000 people die every year from smoking-related diseases.
There are several activities that can be done to reach the community and some that can be done in the classroom to educate the students before they ever pick up that first cigarette.
Every year, the average smoker spends $700 on cigarettes alone. Have youth make a list of things that would add up to $700. They will be surprised at how much they can buy with their money if they never pick up the habit.
Another activity that can be done as a science experiment would be to put a cotton ball in a bottle. Seal the bottle with clay. Take a cigarette and push it through the clay with the filter end inside the bottle. Light the cigarette and gently squeeze the bottle several times to demonstrate a person inhaling. Look at the cotton ball and examine what will end up in the lungs of a smoker.
Another activity is to have students make ads on posters to deter the younger generation from ever picking up a cigarette. You can have different statistics on the posters. Have the students display the posters in an area where they will be recognized. They can go to local businesses and ask them to display the posters for the day to encourage smokers to quit for the day.
Stephanie Hoy,Program coordinator
Louisiana Youth Prevention ServicesAlexandria
