Activities: activity-3
YOU DECIDE!
What have you learned that would affect your decision not to use tobacco and nicotine?
Remember, you need to be in the know about the risks and consequences to make the right decisions.
Take a look at the "Look what tobacco will do" poster.
Click on the poster to view an enlarged version.
1) What do you think of the images of the diseased lung and gums?
2) Why do you think it is important to take care of your heart?
If you have never tried tobacco products, would these images keep you from using tobacco and nicotine in the future?
If you do use tobacco products, would these images make you want to quit?
NOW, THINK ABOUT THIS SITUATION:
You’re hanging out with one of your friends after soccer practice waiting for your
parents to pick you up. Your friend’s older brother comes to meet you. He offers each of you a vape.
Using what you’ve learned about tobacco and nicotine, what are some of the
risks or consequences with taking it? Type your answers below.
Why aren't the risks worth it?
SKILLS: Assessing Risks and Consequences
Suggested Time Consideration: 25 mins
RATIONALE
While your students have learned about the health consequences of tobacco and nicotine use in previous grades, it is a good time to refresh their knowledge about these issues. Developmentally, your students are at a pivotal stage. It’s a time when more of them may be experimenting with tobacco and nicotine – by using vapes – or may have friends who are.
This activity is designed to remind students about some of the health consequences associated with smoking, vaping and using smokeless tobacco. Knowing the facts and understanding the severity of the health risks may prevent students from experimenting or stop them if they already use tobacco or nicotine.
You might consider having the school nurse or health teacher join you for this activity. Have a dictionary or health textbook on hand so students can look up unfamiliar terms and share them with the class. You may also wish to have them refer to the Glossary included on this site.
GETTING STARTED
You may choose to present this activity on an interactive whiteboard or have students complete it individually or in small groups at computers. Share the digital activity link with your students and then review the information in the activity with your class. Have students take turns reading the activity material aloud and suggesting answers.
TALKING ABOUT IT
After reading the facts presented in the activity, have a discussion to get students’ reactions to the health consequences. Ask students:
Knowing this information, why do you think some people risk using tobacco or nicotine?
WRAPPING UP
Before completing the lesson, present the “Look what tobacco/nicotine will do” poster depicting some health consequences associated with tobacco use. It is included in the “Activity Resources” section below. Read the poster with your students and ask them to comment on the facts that are presented. Emphasize to students that these are health risks tobacco and nicotine users face. The best way to avoid these issues is not to use tobacco or nicotine.
To reinforce the seriousness of the situation, students might research stories of young people affected by tobacco or nicotine use or speak to a local healthcare provider. Or, as a class, visit the CDC’s website for additional information on health consequences.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY
Use the supplemental “Gamers” video to complement this section.
Have small groups of students research the health consequences of tobacco and nicotine use and create posters of their findings to educate other students and encourage them to be tobacco and nicotine free. Students will find the “Look what tobacco/nicotine will do” poster and the material to create their own digital posters at the Follow-Up Activity link below. Share the link with students. Consider having students create presentations to complement their posters and share with the class.
SKILLS: Assessing Risks and Consequences
Suggested Time Consideration: 25 mins
RATIONALE
As mentioned in the teacher’s instructions for Activities 1 and 2, adolescents may not understand the nature of tobacco and nicotine addiction. This activity will explain what nicotine is and how it affects the body so that students understand the concept of addiction as they make their decision to be tobacco and nicotine free.
GETTING STARTED
To introduce this activity, ask students to define “addiction.” Write their thoughts on the board or chart paper. Students might give you examples of things people might be addicted to, such as drugs, alcohol, or tobacco and nicotine. Encourage them to define the term. Then, have a student provide the dictionary definition of “addiction.”
Explain to your students that they are going to read about tobacco and nicotine addiction. Then, share the digital activity link below with your students. Have them complete the activity, including questions and answers, and then review the answers together. You may wish to present it on an interactive whiteboard or have students go directly to the activity on their computers. Have them work in groups to assess the risks and health consequences for the smoking/vaping scenario. Note that they may navigate back and forth between the activity screens by clicking the “Page” tabs at the bottom of the activity.
TALKING ABOUT IT
Answers
1) TRUE. Nicotine is a drug.
2) FALSE. In order to be “True,” the statement should say: The adrenaline (or epinephrine) released by the body after absorbing nicotine stimulates the body and causes an increase in blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate.
3) FALSE. In order to be “True,” the statement should say: Most smokers or vapers use tobacco regularly because they are addicted to nicotine.
4) FALSE. In order to be “True,” the statement should say: Each year, nearly 35 million smokers want to quit.
5) TRUE. Nicotine causes the same changes in the brain as heroin and cocaine.
6) TRUE. Without nicotine, a smoker/vaper can feel irritable and depressed.
After reviewing the answers together, share the following additional facts with your class:
- Studies have shown that addiction can occur after smoking/vaping as few as 100 cigarettes or vapes. And some young people have shown symptoms of dependence within the first few weeks of using a nicotine product like a cigarette or vape.9
- Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. The most dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke, besides nicotine, are tar and carbon monoxide. Tar causes lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial disease. Carbon monoxide causes heart problems.10
- In 2021, 65.3% of youth (middle and high school students) who currently used tobacco products reported that they were seriously thinking about quitting the use of all tobacco products.11
- The younger people are when they begin smoking cigarettes or vaping, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine.4
- Young people who try to quit cigarettes or vapes suffer from the same nicotine withdrawal symptoms as adults.4
- Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S.—approximately one out of every five deaths.12 This fact from the CDC is very real. Even more startling, based on current smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses.12
WRAPPING UP
To wrap up the activity and reiterate the health consequences of tobacco and nicotine use and the addictive nature of nicotine, discuss the warning labels that appear on tobacco and nicotine products.
Explain to your students that the U.S. Surgeon General serves as the head of the United States Public Health Service and is the leading spokesperson on such matters for the U.S. government. There are specific health warnings placed on cigarette packages and advertisements on a rotating basis.13 Display the following warnings for your students to see, or write them on the board:
- SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.
- SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.
- SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.
- SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.
The Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986, as amended, requires that there be one of the following warning labels on smokeless tobacco packaging and advertisements. They are:
- WARNING: This product can cause mouth cancer.
- WARNING: This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss.
- WARNING: This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
- WARNING: Smokeless tobacco is addictive.
Ask your students:
- Have you seen these warning labels before?
- Were you aware that these health issues could result from tobacco and nicotine use?
- Why do you think these labels are important?
Conclude by telling students that you hope their knowledge of these health risks and the addictive nature of nicotine will help them make the right decision to be tobacco and nicotine free.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY
As a group, brainstorm positive, healthy activities students can engage in as alternatives to using tobacco or nicotine. For example, they could exercise, paint, draw, sing, dance … the list is endless.
SOURCES
4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; Washington, D.C., 2012. Referenced 2017. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/preventing-youth-tobacco-use/full-report.pdf
9 Milton, M.H., Maule, C.O., Yee, S.L., Backinger, C., Malarcher, A.M., Husten, C.G. Youth Tobacco Cessation: A Guide for Making Informed Decisions. Atlanta, Georgia: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2004. Referenced 2023.https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11319/cdc_11319_DS1.pdf
11 CDC. Smoking & Tobacco Use. Fact Sheet-Quitting Smoking. Referenced 2023. www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/quitting/index.htm
12 CDC. Smoking & Tobacco Use. Fact Sheet-Tobacco-Related Mortality. Referenced 2017. www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/index.htm
13 CDC. Smoking & Tobacco Use. History of the Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Health. Referenced 2017. www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/history/
SKILLS: Assessing Risks and Consequences
Suggested Time Consideration: 25 mins
RATIONALE
In this activity, students will review the health information that they learned in Activity Two and reinforce their understanding of the facts.
GETTING STARTED
Before sharing the link to the activity, read the following scenario to your students:
Janelle’s parents are not home. Her friends call and ask her to go to the movies with them. Janelle knows her parents would not let her go, but her friends beg her to go with them. They tell her she could be back before her parents get home and they would never know.
Ask your students:
· What choices does Janelle have? (Write their answers on the board.)
· What are the possible risks and consequences for each of these choices?
· Are there any negative consequences associated with Janelle’s options?
· Can you think of any situations in which there are possible health consequences to consider when making a decision? (e.g., use of tobacco, nicotine, other drugs or alcohol)
Next, explain to your students that this example was used to get them to think about evaluating choices and consequences before making decisions. There are health risks to consider with some decisions (e.g., using tobacco and nicotine products), which you will discuss in this activity. Share the digital activity link below with your students. You can have students go directly to the activity on their computers. Have them work ingroups to assess the risks and health consequences for the scenario.
Note that they may navigate back and forth between the activity screens by clicking the “Page” tabs at the bottom of the activity.
TALKING ABOUT IT
Facts about the health consequences associated with using tobacco and nicotine use are important for students to understand. Before moving on to the “Take a Look” section, display the “Look what tobacco will do” poster with the images displaying health consequences associated with tobacco use (e.g., diseased gums and lung) and read it with your group. Students will see it on their individual computer screens and may click to enlarge it ina separate window. Ask them to keep the separate window open so they can refer back to the poster. The diseased images are included to bring the message home—using tobacco products can seriously impair a person’s health. Students will need to refer to the poster images to complete this part of the activity. Next, have students work in groups to complete the question in the “You Decide!” section. Have a class discussion to review student’s answers.
WRAPPING UP
Answers may vary. Explain to students that it is harder to breathe with diseased lungs, making it tough to walk, climb, exercise, and get around. It is important to have a healthy heart because it pumps blood throughout the body that carries oxygen we need to live. Your students need the facts about the health consequences of using tobacco to make smart decisions on saying “no” to tobacco. Seeing a picture of a diseased lung or gums might make them think twice before using tobacco. Other students might say “no” to tobacco because of the cosmetic or social reasons, which the CDC indicates successful prevention programs address in addition to the physiological consequences.4 Explain to your students that in addition to the health issues presented, using tobacco can also result in stained teeth, foul-smelling hair and clothes, and ostracism from non-smoking peers.4 Explain that youth and young adults are also uniquely at risk for long-term, long-lasting effects of exposing their developing brains to nicotine. These risks include nicotine addiction, mood disorders, and permanent lowering of impulse control. Nicotine also changes the way synapses are formed, which can harm the parts of the brain that control attention and learning.8
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY
As a follow-up exercise, ask students to complete the “Choices and Consequences” digital activity below. You may share the link and ask students to complete it individually. During or after the activity, ask students to talk about their choices and the possible consequences. Next, use role-playing methods in class to help students think of healthy ways to respond when faced with making decisions about these behaviors. Remind students that the way a person reacts to a given situation will vary based on the individual. Use the supplemental “Summer Boredom” video to complement this section.
SOURCES
4 CDC. Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. MMWR 1994; Vol. 43, No. RR-2; 1-18. Referenced 2017. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/RR/RR4302.pdf
8 https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/knowtherisks.html#:~:text=Youth%20and%20young%20adults%20are,permanent%20lowering%20of%20impulse%20control.