Teen Tobacco Use Prevention Activities

INTRODUCTION

REMEMBER!!! BE ENERGETIC! This is about creating an experience for the participants.

GOOD EYE CONTACT – SPEAK CLEARLY AND LOUDLY WITH ENERGY – TAKE YOUR TIME

Activity ONE:
BB Activity
Key Objectives –

To demonstrate the impact of the number of deaths resulting from tobacco related illnesses

To compare the number of tobacco related deaths to deaths caused by alcohol and illegal drugs

Materials Needed –

BBs

Metal pot or bowl

Script

Directions –

Have all participants close their eyes. Follow the attached script, pouring the correct number of BBs
required for each section. Students will open their eyes once the script has been completed.

Outcomes –

Students will have a better understanding of the impact of tobacco and tobacco-related illnesses.

1
BBs Demonstration
Script:

We all know that tobacco is harmful to our health, but few of us really understand just
how harmful it is. To give you a new perspective on the problem of tobacco use, I am
going to ask you to think about death. (Ask audience to please close their eyes)
I have a metal BB here. Now listen to the sound it makes when I throw it into this metal
pot
(Toss BB into pot)
Let the sound of one BB (toss in another BB) represent one death. Think about
someone you know who has died.

Now think for a moment about illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, and LSD. Do you think
they are bad? They are—they can kill you. This is how many people die from a drug
overdose every day in this country. (Slowly pour in 16 BBs) That represents 16 people
who will die every day from illegal drugs, about 5,700 people every year.
Now what about alcohol? Do you think that alcohol is bad for you? It can be—it can kill
you.
Usually not right away, but slowly over time. This is how many people die from alcohol
related deaths every day (pour in 342 BBs slowly). That represents 342 people every
day who die from alcohol-related deaths, about 125,000 every year.

Now think about tobacco. Listen to how many people tobacco will kill today and every
day in this country (pour 1,205 BBs very slowly). That represents 1,205 people who die
every day and who are dying right now because of tobacco-related illness. That is
440,000 people every year. That includes grandparents, neighbors, parents, uncles,
aunts, brothers, and sisters.
(Tell audience they may open their eyes)

Ninety percent of people who are dying from tobacco today and every day, started to
smoke before they were 19 years old. Most started when they were around 13 years
old.

Tobacco kills. It won’t kill today or tomorrow like hard drugs or alcohol can, but it kills
people over time with lung disease, cancer, and heart problems.

Remember, you take the first cigarette, and then the cigarette takes you.

Don’t be a BB, and don’t let your friends be BBs either.

2
Activity TWO:
Straw Activity
Key Objectives –

To understand the physical limitations that people experience from the use of tobacco products

Materials Needed –

Straws or coffee stirrers

Time keeping device

Directions –

To demonstrate the health effects of tobacco use, have student volunteers stand and run in place
normally for thirty seconds. When they stop, ask students how they feel after running. Then, have each
volunteer take a straw, place it in his/her mouth, and pinch his/her nose. Have the volunteers run in
place again, but with the straw and the pinched nose. After students have finished running, ask them
how they feel after running with the straws. Discuss the differences between running with and without
the straw.

Outcomes –

Students will have a better understanding of the physical limitations that smokers encounter every day,
doing simple things like running in place.

3
Straw Activity
Read aloud everything in bold.

Smoking cigarettes causes, or worsens, many lung diseases, including lung

cancer, emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. When you smoke, your lungs fill up
with smoke, tar, and harmful chemicals. Your lungs can get infections and
inflammation. This activity will help you realize how hard it is for some smokers
to breathe even when they’re resting.

If you have asthma, please don’t participate in this activity; also, if you feel lightheaded
or dizzy, please stop the activity.

(You can either choose a number of volunteers to do this activity, or have the entire
group do the activity)

First, let’s all run in place for thirty seconds, breathing normally.
(Group runs in place for thirty seconds)

How is everyone feeling?

(Let different people respond and comment on responses)

Okay, now, everyone put a straw in your mouth, pinch your nose, and breathe
“normally” through your mouth. This gives you an idea of what it feels like to be a
person who smokes. Now, keep the straw in your mouth, pinch your nose, and
run in place for thirty more seconds.

(Group runs in place for thirty seconds)

How is everyone feeling? (Let one or two people respond and comment on answers.)

Now, put the coffee stirrer in your mouth, pinch your nose, and breathe. We will
run in place for thirty seconds.
(Group runs in place for thirty seconds)

This is how people with severe airway and lung disease, like emphysema, feel
when they try to breathe through their mouth and nose. It is difficult to exhale and
to catch your breath. They often need to use oxygen at all times just to stay alive.
How is everyone feeling?

4
Activity THREE:
Vote with Your Feet
Key Objectives –
To inform youth on the important facts about tobacco and tobacco related illness

Materials Needed –
Four pieces of paper with large “A”. “B”, “C”, and “D” letters printed on them
Questions

Directions –

Read each question to the group. Each corner of the room is labeled with a letter. Students will walk
towards the letter that they believe is the correct answer for the specific question. This process
continues for each question

Outcomes –

Students will have a better understanding of statistics surrounding tobacco after this activity

5
Vote with Your Feet - Second Hand Smoke

Read the following: “I will read a question with four multiple choice answers. Please remain quiet until
you hear all the answers. When I say “go”, walk over and stand under the answer you think is correct.”
After each question, give them the correct answer. They can stay where they are while the next
question is read.

Vote with You Feet Tobacco Quiz (SHS Version) Questions and Answers:

1. Which of the following kills the most people each year in the United States?
A) Illegal drugs B) Drunk Driving C) Murders D) Second Hand Smoke

Answer: D - Second Hand Smoke. Second Hand Smoke is the 3rd leading cause of preventable
death.

2. What is the percentage of high school students who smoke in North Carolina?
A) 63% B) 32% C) 19% D) 4%

Answer: C - 19%. 19% of high school students smoke; however, that means that 81% of high
school students DON’T smoke.

3. How many chemicals are in tobacco smoke?

A) 4,000 B) 500 C) 1.2 million D) 24

Answer: A - 4,000. There are over 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke, 60 of which are known
to be or are probable carcinogens.

4. The amount of nicotine in one dip of spit tobacco equals the amount of nicotine in how many
cigarettes?
A) There isn’t nicotine in spit tobacco B) 5 cigarettes C) 100 cigarettes D) 1 cigarette

Answer: B - 5 cigarettes. The amount of nicotine in one dip of spit tobacco can deliver up to 5
times the amount found in one cigarette!

5. Inhaling cigarette smoke does what?

A) Makes your heart beat slow
B) Makes liver release acetate
C) Decreases skin temperature
D) Opens up blood vessels

Answer: C – Decreases skin temperature. Because blood flow is restricted while smoking, your
body cannot stay as warm as it should

6
Activity FOUR:
Match Up/ Secondhand Smoke
Key Objectives –

To reinforce the amount of harmful chemicals in tobacco products

Materials Needed –

Big bowl for ingredients, candle, batteries, toy car, ammonia, nail polish remover, rat poison, pencils, jar
of “urine”, and moth balls

Directions –
Ask, “What kind of soup do you all like to eat?” Announce that you are making ETS soup. Go through
each ingredient slowly. As you call each ingredient, pick up the prop meant to represent that ingredient
and pretend to pour it in your big bowl. After all of the ingredients have been “added,” pretend to stir it
together and read the script at the end.

Outcomes –
Students will have a better understanding of the toxic ingredients that are inside tobacco products

7
Second Hand Smoke Soup

Instructions:
Ask, “What kind of soup do you all like to eat?” Announce that you are making ETS soup. Go through
each ingredient slowly. As you call each ingredient, pick up the prop meant to represent that ingredient
and pretend to pour it in your big bowl. After all of the ingredients have been “added”, pretend to stir it
together and read the script at the end.

Ingredients:
Stearic Acid - candle
Mercury - batteries
Ammonia – toilet cleaner
Acetone – finger nail polish remover
Arsenic – Rat Poison
Carbon Monoxide – Tail pipe of car or matchbox car
Lead – pencils
Ureic Acid – Urine
Napthelene – Moth Balls

Script:
Heat up and let all enjoy the wonderful ETS soup that is in the air.
Even those that don’t order this soup will get to enjoy it.
The end result of this soup, made correctly is DEATH. So make sure you all share.
54,000 people die due to second hand smoke in this country alone.