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Elementary students get tobacco facts
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Anonymous user Tue Oct 31, 2006 13:06:41 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Stockdale High School students visited Centennial and Loudon Elementary Schools during Red Ribbon Week to give the facts about the use of tobacco.

Through a puppet show, song and many visual and touchable displays, the Centennial and Loudon students were given a lesson about the harmful effects of smoking, secondhand smoke and chewing tobacco.

Studies show that about 20 percent of first-grade students nationwide have either thought of or have tried smoking. Sixth-graders may start out with good intentions about avoiding cigarettes, but 40 percent of them will move into pre-smoking or actual smoking phases by the end of the academic year.

Eighty percent of the second-grade students raised their hand when asked if they knew someone close to them who smoked or chewed. The majority of kids who start using tobacco told me somebody who they look up to or admire uses tobacco, such as family members, sports stars or coaches.

One student said, “My grandma holds her cigarette out of the shower curtain when she takes a shower.”

Children of parents who smoke are more likely to have lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. They are more likely to suffer from middle ear infections, sore throats and colds. And secondhand smoke can cause youngsters with asthma or allergies to have longer and more severe attacks.

It’s up to us as parents to help our children understand from an early age that smoking is dangerous and deadly. As parents, we have more influence on our children than anyone else, so start the dialogue with your child early, and mention your feelings about smoking often. Let them know how serious the addiction to nicotine is and educate them about the risks associated with smoking. Condition them to have a healthy hatred for smoking.

Tips for talking to young children:

• Speak directly about the risks associated with smoking. If you have friends or relatives who have died of a smoking-related illness, share the truth about it with your child.

• Help your kids develop a healthy self-image. If they feel confident and sure of themselves, they’ll be better able to resist social pressure to smoke.

• Discuss ways that they can say no to smoking. Help them prepare for situations by running through potential scenarios they might experience with friends. Do a little role playing. Ask questions like, “What would you do if your best friend asked you to smoke?” Help them come up with ways to say no without losing friends.

• Let your child know that smoking in movies and on TV is NOT cool. Seeing their favorite stars smoking can be very influential to a young person, so be aware of what your child is watching and be ready to counteract it.

The more you can do early on in your child’s development to turn them away from smoking the better their chances will be of avoiding it altogether.

After speaking about heart disease and lung cancer, a second-grade student walked up to me with tears in her eyes and said, “My uncle has what you were talking about.”

If that is not enough to make you quit, please get help.

If you would like the Stockdale High School students to come and speak at your school, contact me at Stockdale High School at 665-2800 ext. 21.

–– Paul Garcia is a tobacco use prevention specialist at Stockdale High School.

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