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Anti-smoking campaign
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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
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