Advocacy Project: Smoking Fact Find

Smoking Fact Find

Purpose:
The purpose for the activity is to get people aware of the dangers of smoking as well as how it effects other people. Many Americans forget how harmful it is for everyone when they chose to light up a cigerette. Understanding first what smoking does to the smoker will intern help better understand how it effects those around them as well. I also want people to form a better understanding about what can motivate them to quit or never even start smoking. Understanding that there are many reasons out there to stay smoke free may just be the motivation that some people need.

Evidence:
Millions of Americans each year are effected by tobacco use. In Minnesota alone over 630 million family members will continue to smoke each year. Many of these family members will then expose loved ones to many harmful effects of secondhand smoke, including over 4000 chemical compounds, 210 of which are carcinogens. As we all know smoking kills. In fact every 8 seconds someone in the world has died due to tobacco use. This equates to about 5 million deaths per year worldwide. As future Health Educators, we should all be aware of the harmful effects that smoking has on the economy, our loved ones and our bodies.

Instructions:
1) Review the links below.
2) Find 5 things that you didn't know before watching the video or things that really effected you.
3) Post the 5 things you learned. Can you think of any personal reasons why you have chosen not to smoke too? For example, parents would be disappointed, dont want to smell bad, ect. Please provide one reason why you have chosen not to smoke or have quit because of (if you feel comfortable sharing).

We all pay the price - Look around on the entire site. It has a lot of good information if you dig around!
Smoking effects video -watch me
Secondhand smoke video -watch me