 YOU DON’T HAVE TO SMOKE TO BE COOL: PEER PRESSURE AND SMOKING o Introduction Adolescence is time of exciting promise, a time when teenagers begin to awaken to their potential. It is also a time of great uncertainty, a time when the desire to "fit in" can overshadow an adolescent’s blossoming individuality. Understanding this need and having the tools to meet it—education and awareness—can mean the difference between a teenager who follows the crowd and one who is able to make choices based on his or her own personal judgment. Many people form habits in their teen years that will continue throughout their lives. Some of those habits are good ones, disciplines that will enable them to carry out a career, commit to social and family obligations, and take care of their health. Other habits are not so good. Bad study habits can lead to problems later on when it comes to getting a job done; an uncaring attitude toward health can lead to serious medical conditions and heavy smoking or drinking habits become addictions. This program is designed to inform and educate the adolescent to the facts and dangers of the smoking habit. With more than 50 million smokers in the United States, many of them in their teens, it is important for the adolescent experimenting with that first cigarette to know the facts about smoking and the dangers that lurk beyond that first puff. This program combines interviews, dramatic vignettes, questions and discussions to alert and educate students to social problems and medical dangers often linked to the smoking habit. The program is geared to help the adolescent to form and educated opinion about smoking and make him or her aware of its negative aspects. o The program is divided into three sections. 1. The Pharmacology of Smoking --A presentation of the facts about smoking. Students are made aware of important statistics and medical findings that are important to their knowledge of the habit as well as some of the misleading beliefs currently held by teens who smoke or may be considering that first cigarette. 2. Peer Pressures and Social Issues --Suggestions and scenarios to help a teenager turn off the social pressure when a friend or acquaintance challenges one to try a cigarette because "it is cool" or in order to be "accepted" into the group. A look at advertising and marketing in the tobacco industry and how it affects the adolescent, and a discussion of ways to remain true to one’s own feelings and choices without ostracizing oneself from social circles. 3. Medical Effects of Smoking --Where that first puff leads: smoking as an addiction. Highlighting the serious medical problems that can arise from heavy smoking or a nicotine addiction, including the different effects of smoking on males and females. o Objectives This program is designed to: o Educate and encourage adolescents to consider the short-term and long-term effects of the smoking habit. o Prompt students to evaluate the consequences of smoking, whether it be to look "cool" with the crowd or to "act grown-up" o Illustrate the issue of peer pressure and encourage teenagers to rely on their own educated judgment when making choices that are important to their mental growth and physical health. o Point out how smoking can affect the individual and others at home, at school and in the workplace. o Enlighten adolescents as to the importance of their physical health through discussion of the medical dangers of a long-terms smoking habit. o Correct with facts and straightforward interviews and discussion some of the misconceptions that teens may have about smoking and its effects. o Emphasize the importance of making the right decisions about smoking now, before adolescents leave their teen years and before detrimental habits can become ingrained in their everyday lives. The Pharmacology of Smoking Part One This first section of the film begins with dramatic vignettes depicting teenagers smoking and offering cigarettes to their peers. A host is introduced who will present facts and statistics on smoking, including a true and false section in which students will participate. With the aid of graphics, the program host will pose a question, leaving a suitable amount of time for students to respond before revealing the correct answer. The aids are geared to educate the adolescent in order to help him or her make the right choice before smoking becomes a habit. Knowing the facts is the first step in understanding an issue and the part an individual must take in it. The facts and statistics clarified and discussed in this section include how many teens in the United States smoke and if that statistic is increasing or decreasing; whether more boys smoke than girls; what happens to the body when cigarette smoke is inhaled and how many carcinogens are in one cigarette. This section of the program will also introduce a number of experts who will impart and comment on various facts and other aspects of smoking throughout the entire film. o Review Questions: Part One 1. What do you know about smoking as a habit? Where have you gotten your information? 2. Is smoking more of a risk for girls than it is for boys? If so, why? 3 What are some of the reasons to either quit smoking or never start? 4. Name any three reactions that occur within the body after a cigarette is smoked. 5. How much cigarette smoke can be absorbed into the lings before serious problems begin to occur? Before the voice is affected? 6. How does smoking become habit? What can be done to stop a craving for nicotine? 7. What are some of the toxic chemicals that have been identified as products of cigarette smoke? What effect do they have on the body, including the brain? o Peer Pressure and Social Issues Part Two Picking up a cigarette or taking a drag off one that a friend is smoking may seem harmless enough those first few times, but down the road it can lead to a serious addiction. Teens who bow to peer pressure, who take a drag to be "in" with their friends or make an impression with a "cool" crowd, may find smoking has just the opposite effect at home or at work. This section of the program explores the problems that can arise from peer pressure. It also highlights some of the answers—ways in which adolescents can resolve the issues that can make them comfortable in public when their choices and decisions are challenged. Through discussions with experts, guidelines presented by the host and scenarios with teenagers themselves, the program shows the student that there are alternatives to giving in to embarrassing situations where they may be pushed to defend their decision not to smoke. This section of the program also points out why it is not cool to smoke. Experts are solicited for their opinions on society’s changing attitudes toward cigarette smoking and the increased awareness that the habit is dangerous to one’s health. The negative aspects of smoking are emphasized here through dramatic vignettes with teens, taped interviews with professionals in the medical field and smoking workshop coordinators. o Review Questions: Part Two 1. What are some of the reasons teens smoke? Are there different reasons for boys and girls? 2. As a young adult, have you made a decision about whether you will smoke? If you already smoke, would you consider quitting after seeing this program? Why or why not? 3. Is it sometimes necessary to "go along with the crowd?" When? 4. List some of the ways in which saying no to a cigarette will not offend whoever has offered it. 5. How is the message that it is not cool to smoke getting across to teens, those who smoke and those who do not? 6. Would you tell someone who is smoking near you to either move away or put out the cigarette? List some of the polite but firm ways in which you could do this. 7. What are your feelings toward the recent ban of cigarette smoking on some airlines, restaurants and other public places? do you feel the rules protect your rights or violate them? 8. What are your feelings toward smoking advertisements? Do advertisers market tobacco products to the glamorous and sophisticated? Do you see any "truth in advertising," a desire not to push cigarettes on the public (i.e., "If You Smoke, Please Try Carlton" campaign)? o Medical Effects of Smoking Part Three As the warning label on the cigarette pack states, smoking can be hazardous to your health. The surgeon general’s warning has become the hue and cry of doctors and other medical advisors throughout the country, and tobacco companies have made known their worries over a dwindling market. Between twelve and fifteen percent of American teenagers between the ages of twelve and fifteen smoke. According to surveys, teenage girls are some of the biggest cigarette consumers in the United States. Survey statistics show that many of these women will eventually give up the habit, or try to, when they make decisions to have children. Still, there is much the general public, especially adolescents, does not know about the hazards of smoking. This part of the program delves into the medical effects of long-term and habitual smoking. The host introduces medical professionals and smoking program coordinators who outline the problems that can, and often do, occur when smoking becomes a habit. This part of the program also outlines how tobacco consumption, particularly cigarettes, affects the body and the brain. It attempts to show the teenager where to get help when a decision to quit smoking has been reached. The interviews with doctors and other professionals are also supplemented by the host, who guides students through another set of true and false questions based on the short – and long-term effects that smoking has on one’s health. o Review Questions: Part Three 1. Do you feel that the medical warnings about cigarette smoking are valid? Do you think those warnings apply to you if you are a smoker or have tried smoking? 2. Does the fact that cigarette smoking is habit-forming make you think twice about lighting up? Do you think you could become addicted to nicotine? Why or why not? 3. Does anyone in your family smoke? Have you encouraged them to quit? Do you think smoking is not harmful because your parents or siblings smoke? 4. What do you know about smoking programs that are advertised? Are some better qualified to help smokers end their habits than others? How would you find a credible program with a good reputation and good recommendations? 5. What are some of the most serious medical problems than con occur from both short-term and long-term smoking? List them. 6. What is the definition of a smoking "habit?" How long does it take to develop one (how many cigarettes, how much time)? 7. What is the most addictive substance? o Related Activities 1. Have students discuss their views on peer pressure and how it affects them individually. 2 Ask them to list way in which others try to persuade them to conform to the group. Have them list the ways in which they would respond to those pressures. 3. Role Playing Exercises: o A boy pressuring another boy to smoke in order to get into the "right group at school." The other boy resisting. o A girl being pressured to smoke because everyone in her crowd is doing it. Also, a girl smoking because a boy she likes has a smoking habit. o A teen trying to get a friend to quit the smoking habit. Give reasons. o A teen attempting to encourage a parent or sibling to quit smoking. Mention reasons to quit, programs to contact and counseling available. 4. Have students bring in a variety of smoking advertisements and ask them to describe their emotional reactions (gut feelings) to the ads. 5. What is the cost of a pack of cigarettes? Have students who smoke add up what it cost them to smoke per year and what else they could purchase. 6. Invite a doctor, health professional and/or smoking program coordinator to class to discuss smoking and its social and physical dangers. 7. Ask students to compile a list of smoking laws in your town or county, including the recent legislation on separate seating areas in public places. Have them describe what they feel is fair or unfair about the specific laws. 8. Has this program changed any attitudes in your class about smoking? How? Teacher’s Note: The following question and answer section can be copied and distributed to students to complete as they watch the video program. Part One Questions 1. What percentage of teens between the ages of 12 & 18 smoke regularly? a) About 5 percent b) Between 12 and 15 percent c) 25 percent d) Over 30 percent 2. True or False In the last ten years, cigarette smoking among teens has increased. 3. What happens to the body within minutes of smoking a cigarette? Mark True or False for each of the following: a) Heart rate increases b) Pupils dilate c) Blood pressure rises d) Carbon monoxide enters the blood stream e) Carcinogens enter lungs 4. How many different toxic chemicals have been identified as products of tobacco smoke? a) 1,200 b) 900 c) 280 d) Over 4,000 5. True or False Smokers are more susceptible to many health problems and illnesses than non-smokers. 6. True or False Smoking makes you lose weight. 7. True or False Cigarette smoking relaxes a person. Part Two Questions 8. Which of the following factors do you think most influence teenagers to smoke? a) Peer pressure b) Messages in the media c) Parents and older siblings d) A desire to rebel e) To look cool or sophisticated 9. How much do advertisers spend on cigarettes each year? a) $1,000,000 b) $100,000,000 c) $500,000,000 d) Over $1,000,000,000 10. What is passive smoking? a) When you don’t inhale b) When you smoke to relax c) When you involuntarily inhale smoke from other people’s cigarettes d) When you smoke only occasionally 11. How do you tell someone that his/her smoking is bothering you? a) Stare at the person b) Make loud comments c) Cough loudly until they stop d) Tell them to put it out e) Sit there and fume 12. True or False Most teenagers have said they prefer to go out with non-smokers. 13. If you saved the money it costs to buy a pack a day, how much money would you have after five years? a) Between $1,500 and $2,000 b) Between $2,000 and $5,000 c) Between $5,000 and $8,000 d) Over $8,000 Questions Part Three 14. Yes or No Is nicotine and addictive drug? 15. True or False It takes about two weeks for a smoker to go through withdrawal symptoms after quitting. 16. True or False The longer you smoke and the more cigarettes you smoke, the harder it is to quit. 17. What percentage of people who smoke say they would like to quit? a) 35% b) 50% c) 70% d) 90% 18. True or false By quitting, you can reverse the negative effects cigarette smoking may already have had on you body. 19. True or False Of the over 40 million people who have quit, only 20% have been able to do it on their own. 20. True or False If you try to quit and fail once or twice, chances are good that you will continue to fail. 21. True or False The best way to quit smoking is to go cold turkey. Part One Answers 1. b) Between 12 & 15 percent. 2. False 3. All answers are true. 4. d) Over 400. 5. True 6. False 7. False Part Two Answers 8. All of the above. 9. c) Over $1,000,000,000 10. c) When you involuntarily inhale smoke from other people’s cigaretttes. 11. f) Ask them to please not smoke, while you are eating. 12. True 13. d) Over $8,000 Part Three Answers 14. Yes 15. True 16. True 17. d) 90% 18. True 19. False 20. False 21. True |
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