DOC/STATS Program at UCLA
A web page designed to help educate children about smoking
The following information is intended to guide UCLA medical
students
in holding an hour-long discussion with Jr. High and
High School students about smoking.
The following is an outline of topics to discuss in the classroom:
Reasons people smoke
What's in cigarette
smoke?
Effects of smoking
What about second-hand
smoke?
Tobacco companies and
advertising
Demonstrations
Emphysema
Lung Demonstration
Be prepared!
Common questions
What to bring
What should you expect in the
classroom?
Links
Reasons People Smoke
(about 5 minutes)
After you introduce yourself to the class, ask them to list reasons why
people smoke. It is helpful to list these reasons on the board.
If they are quiet, list one to get them started. Encourage any response
with candy. Don't worry about correcting them if they say something
inaccurate, just list everything. Typical responses include:
peer pressure (their friends are doing it)
looks cool
feels good
see famous people smoking
look older
parents smoke
stress
You may be surprised at the variety of reasons they give! Be
encouraging, even if the class is a little noisy. Just politely ask
them to be quite when someone is speaking. Usually the teachers will
step in if the class gets too noisy.
What's in cigarette smoke?
(less than 5 minutes)
Ask them to guess how many chemicals are in cigarette
smoke. After you take several guesses, surprise them by telling them
over
4,000 chemicals are in cigarette smoke. Ask if they know any
of them. You don't have to write these down, but be sure to mention:
nicotine - what makes it
addictive
carbon monoxide - car exhaust
cyanide - rat poison
formaldehyde - preserves
frogs in biology class the lung you brought
ammonia - in household
cleaners
acetone - fingernail polish
remover
acetylene - jet fuel
tar - the black stuff used
to pave streets
Effects of Smoking
(about 20 minutes)
Ask them what they think are some good
effects of smoking (there shouldn't be too many!). Here it is ok
to politely correct them if they say something really inaccurate, just
be careful not to discourage them. Write these down as well.
Typical responses include:
it gives you a "high"
helps people relax
loose weight
tastes good
Then, ask them to list some bad effects
of smoking. Write these down. Typical responses include:
causes cancer
emphysema (although most
don't know what this means!)
smells bad
its addictive
makes you cough
turns teeth yellow
its expensive
ect, ect, ect...
Once your done writing these down, have them look
at both lists and compare them. Show them how there are a lot
more bad effects of smoking than good. Also show them how most of
the "good" effects of smoking don't last very long, and that the more you
smoke, the shorter they last. Here is a good time to spit out a few
trivia facts:
- Smoking kills over 500,000/year
(more than AIDS, cocaine, heroin, suicide, murder, car accidents, and fire
combined!)
- Accounts for 1/5 of all
deaths in the US
- Increases your chance of
lung cancer by 22 times
- 90% of people know smoking
is bad for you, but still over 50 million Americans smoke (powerful addiction)
- Overall, smoking kills about
1/2 of all long-term users
- Smokers, on average, live
about 15 years shorter than non-smokers
- Over 90% of teenagers believe
they can quit smoking, but only 1.5% actually succeed
- Despite all this, youth
smoking has been increasing since 1992 (about 3000 teenagers begin smoking
each day)
- Most children experiment
with smoking by age 12
- Most teenagers (even those
who smoke) say they would rather date a non-smoker
At this point, focus on the bad effects of smoking.
Start with the list on the board (but save emphysema for last so you can
do the demo) and explain what they mean in simple terms! Be
sure to explain:
Cancer (lung, mouth, throat, bladder,
kidney, ect...)
For younger children, explain
cancer as similar to weeds growing in a garden. Eventually,
the weeds take over the entire garden and kill all the good plants.
For older kids, explain it as a bunch of cells that start growing out of
control, until they eventually take over your entire body.
Heart attack and Stroke
The nicotine in
cigarette smoke helps to clog up your blood vessels, making it hard for
your heart or brain to get blood.
Osteoporosis
Weak bones, easier to break
as you get older.
Trouble sleeping
Tooth Decay
Low Physical Endurance
They won't be able
to run or exercise very well.
Wrinkled skin
Nicotine dries out
the skin and causes premature wrinkling.
Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Flu
Smoking makes the
lungs less able to fight off infections.
Emphysema(*DEMONSTRATION*)
This is a difficult topic
to explain, but this a good time for the demo. Ask for 5-10 volunteers
to come to the front of the class. Once they are up there, explain
that emphysema is a disease that makes it hard to breathe. Give the
volunteers a plastic drinking straw and tell them to do 30 jumping jacks.
Immediately after they do the jumping jacks, they have to put the straw
in their mouth and plug their nose. Have them do the jumping jacks
together (get the class to count with you). They won't be able to
breathe through the straw very long, and will usually struggle, then start
laughing. Ask some of them to explain what it feels like. Be
sure to collect the straws before they sit down, else they could be a distraction.
This is a good point to ask for questions.
What about second-hand smoke?
(less than 5 minutes)
Ask them if they know what second-hand smoke is.
Ask if they think it is more or less dangerous than smoking. Be sure
to explain that in many ways, second-hand smoke is more dangerous
than smoking because it is not filtered. Some trivia facts to give
include:
- It kills over 50,000 Americans
each year (3rd leading cause of preventable death in the US)
- Children exposed to it have
higher rates of middle ear disorders, eye irritation, asthma and other
lung infections
- Classified as a "Class A
Carcinogen" by the Environmental Protection Agency
- Increases risk of lung cancer
by 20-30%
Tobacco companies and advertising
(about 5 minutes)
Now that they have heard all the bad things smoking can do, ask them why
the tobacco companies still try to sell cigarettes.
- Tobacco companies make billions of dollars each
year from selling cigarettes
- They have to target children in order to make
money
- On average, tobacco companies spend about $165
per second on advertisments
How do they get young people to buy cigarettes and get addicted?
Show them magazine cigarrette ads. Ask them how the ads try to make
smoking look "cool" and glamorous. Be sure to point out how the ads
never show the bad effects of smoking (people with yellow teeth and wrinkled
skin, ect). They even use cartoons to get kids attention.
Lung Demonstration
(at least 15 minutes)
Pass out one glove to each student. At the front of the class, show
them both a smokers lung and a normal lung. Explain how the tar in
cigarette smoke collects in the lung and never goes away. Have one
of you bring the lung around to each student and allow them to touch it
if they want to. Ask them to describe the differences between the
two lungs. Also mention that the bad smelling formaldehyde used to
preserve the lung is the same chemical found in cigarette smoke.
While one of you takes the lung around, the other should answer questions
they have. They will have plenty!
Common Questions
Is marijuana better for you than cigarettes?
No. Marijuana is also an addictive drug that can potentially be worse
than cigarettes since there is no filter to remove dangerous chemicals
from the smoke.
Are low-tar cigarettes better for you?
No. People that smoke low-tar cigarettes tend to take more puffs
and inhale deeper. Thus, they can inhale just as much (or more) dangerous
chemicals as people smoking regular cigarettes.
Does quitting smoking really help?
Yes! Former smokers live nearly as long as non-smokers, and have
a lower risk (compared to smokers) of cancer and other diseases associated
with smoking. Your body will begin to heal itself when you stop smoking,
and the earlier you quit, the better off you will be.
Do nicotine patches really help people quit?
Yes. Nicotine patches and nicotine gum can approximately double the
success rate of quitting smoking when used along with other methods.
They work primarily by reducing the withdrawal symptoms and appetite for
smoking.
Is chewing tobacco or pipe smoke better for
you? No. Tobacco in any form still contains nicotine and
can still cause cancer, along with other diseases.
Why is smoking so addictive? Nicotine
is an extremely powerful chemical that stimulates the nervous system.
It is considered more addictive than alcohol, cocaine, and heroin.
84% of people that have tried to quit smoking but can’t. Over 90%
of teenagers feel like they could quit if they wanted to, but only 1.5%
actually can.
What about smoking during pregnancy?
Mothers who smoke during pregnancy have a higher risk of having low-weight
or still-born babies.
How do I get my parents to stop smoking?
Have them tell their parents how dangerous smoking is to the health of
everyone in the house. Sometimes just hearing their children tell
them to stop smoking can make a big impact on parents. If the parents
won’t quit, try to get them to smoke outside of the house, since second-hand
smoke can be very unhealthy for children as well. The less contact
the children have to cigarette smoke, the better.
What to Bring
1. White coats
2. Candy to pass out to encourage questions
3. Soda straws for the emphysema demonstration
4. Two cadaver lungs: one from a smoker, the
other a healthy lung
5. Enough gloves for everyone (one glover per
child is enough)
6. Magazine cigarette ads
What should you expect in the classroom?
Each class is very unique, and
you will probably have to adjust your style for each class. Be flexible
and open-minded. Always encourage questions, and never tell a student
they are wrong. Try to get all students involved, but don’t force
anyone to participate if they really don’t want to. Most importantly,
keep it as interactive as possible.
A positive attitude is very
important, and your attitude will immediately rub off on the students.
Remember that you are serving as a role model in addition to educating
them about smoking. If you come across a “problem” student that is
being disruptive (more likely in high school students), having them participate
in demonstrations can sometimes help. However, be careful not to
let one or a few students monopolize the class.
By and large, students will
be cooperative and interested in what you are talking about. Do your
best to foster their curiosity, and if they ask a difficult question, give
it your best answer – but don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” if you
really don’t.
Of course, the teachers are
very helpful and will not hesitate to help keep the class in line if they
get rowdy. Having one of you wander through the rows as the other
talks is a great way to discourage rowdy behavior. Be sure to thank
the teacher after the class has ended.
The format given on this web
site is only one way to structure your session. Feel free to change
it to your style. However, it is best to save the lung demonstration
for the end, since it’s hard to get their complete attention after you
have let them touch a real human lung.
Finally, remember to HAVE
FUN!!! If you enjoy it, so will they.
Links
There are many wonderful web sites designed to educate
people about the dangers of smoking. Here are a few you may want
to check out before your school trip:
www.thetruth.com
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/
www.smokingsucks.nfld.net/
April 2001
By Jonathan Grein, UCLA MS I
jgrein@ucla.edu