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Elementary Students Learn To Inhale Life By Avoiding Tobacco!
March 30 , 2005 by EditorFirefighters have to work in smoke - it comes with the job. A firefighter learns early that the only way to be effective and remain healthy is to NEVER breathe smoke. Just as smoke from a structure fire is deadly, so is tobacco smoke. Smoke from tobacco contains over 4000 chemical compounds… and at least 43 of those chemicals have been found to cause cancer.
That's why Phoenix firefighters, the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Suns' gorilla want to tell 500 Mirage Elementary School students to Inhale Life, Not Tobacco! The assembly at 9:30 a.m. Monday, April 4, at Mirage Elementary School, 3910 W. Grovers Ave., will feature entertainment, a 10-foot tall superhero mascot and firefighters' messages - all with the goal of getting kids to stay tobacco-free and live a healthier lifestyle!
According to the Centers for Disease Control:
- 22.9 percent of high school students in the United States are current cigarette smokers
- 10.1 percent of middle school students in this country are current cigarette smokers
- Each day, nearly 4,400 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 initiate cigarette smoking in the United States
- The younger people begin smoking cigarettes, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine
- Children and teenagers constitute the majority of all new smokers, and the industry's advertising and promotion campaigns often have special appeal to these young people.
- 88 percent of young smokers (ages 12-17) choose the three most heavily advertised brands: Marlboro, Camel and Newport.
- More than 6 million youth are exposed to secondhand smoke daily, and more than 10 million youth ages 12-18 live in a household with at least one smoker.
- If current patterns of smoking behaviors continue, an estimated 6.4 million of today's children can be expected to die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.
