 | Anti-smoking campaign
lights up |  Students, teachers, and physicians in West Bend who participated in
the first classroom presentation of a new anti-smoking campaign
offered by the State Medical Society of Wisconsin and WEAC raved about
the benefits of the gripping lesson plan and video. “I think it’s a great time to start educating these kids
because most smokers start at the age of 13,” Silverbrook Middle
School teacher Michelle Laufer said in an interview with WTMJ- TV
(Channel 4) medical reporter Kimberlee Kane. “It’s a good
program,” Laufer added. Thirteen-year-old Amanda Barlow, who was one of 31 students in
Laufer’s class, agreed: “It (the video) grosses you out and
makes you never want to start smoking.” The teen was referring to the video used during the two-hour
presentation. It showed a human lung ravaged by cancer,
computer-generated photos of how smoking accelerates aging, and an
interview with a mother of two young girls who is told she’s lost
the battle with lung disease. According to the American Cancer Society, 120 Wisconsin children,
averaging age 14, take their first puff of a cigarette every day. Half
will become addicted and half of that group will die of diseases
caused by smoking. “There’s no reason why any of you should die
(prematurely). That’s why I’m here today,” Dr. Mark
Decker, who practices in West Bend, told the students. “It doesn’t
look cool when you smoke. You look stupid. It is very dangerous and
very dumb.” For information on how to get a physician and the video into your
school, contact Steve Busalacchi at the State Medical Society of
Wisconsin: 1-800-362-9080. Posted February 9, 1999 |