ASH Australia: 
Information for school students and staff
 
   

The tobacco industry says "we don't want kids to smoke" but uses all kinds of tricks to target young people - to replace the customers their products kill. But society is fighting back, to protect kids against smoke exposure and tobacco promotion.

ASH has compiled these resources for school students and teachers on what's happening in the war against tobacco - and the latest on its harmful effects and costs.

Our resources include:

LATEST NEWS
ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
USEFUL INFO AND RESOURCES
THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND YOUTH
ON THE "LIGHTER" (OUCH!) SIDE

 

LATEST NEWS

Petition to break tobacco hold on Indonesian rock fest

June 2011:  Indonesia's biggest music fest, Java Rockin' Land 22-24 July targets youth with discount student tickets. Sponsored by tobacco company Gudang Garam. International acts from US, UK, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Germany. Please take a minute to sign this  petition  - each sig sends email to acts' press agents and managers. And pass it on!


Kate's model face suffers the ravages of smoking
2009: Chain-smoking is robbing top model Kate Moss of her good looks, friends claim. 
See story with pic in  Sydney Morning Herald Life&Style feature 17/6/09    See also  Smokers' acne face a bad look 24/9/07   and this  interactive photo-graphic game  where you can use a photo on the site or upload your own pic and then modify it the way smoking can.


Youth call for plain tobacco packaging
2009: Youth groups have called for plain packaging of tobacco products, in a statement on National Youth Tobacco Free Day.  
See  Cancer Council ACT media release 27/3/09

 

Teen girls who smoke are likely to be fatter as young adults

2008:  Teenage girls who smoke are more likely to be fatter young adults, says research in the the American Journal of Public Health. A study of over 4000 twins shows smokers of more than ten a day can more than double their risk of becoming overweight as young adults - by an average 1.34 inches larger than nonsmokers' waists.   See abstract     Smoking is linked with obesity in girls - and stunts boys: 2008 abstract   - and another (2007) study says adolescent smoking is linked with obesity - especially for girls, and adjusting for other factors.  See  abstract

Passive smoking suspect in teen footballer's sudden death
2008: Doctors in Italy point to passive smoking as a factor in the sudden death of a 13-year-old boy while playing soccer. The autopsy on his death from heart failure noted that tobacco smoke causes heart disease - and he lived with four smokers.
See  abstract

"Smoker's acne face" a bad look
2007: Study in British Journal of Dermatology of smoking-related acne shows women aged 25-40 who smoke are four times more likely to have it. 
See  ASH media release 24/9/07    See  study and pic

Smoking is a heartbreaker - even for the young at heart   
2007: Young adult smokers may appear healthy, but smoking causes major harm to their hearts. Regular smoking apparently harms the heart's ability to relax between beats, reducing its pumping capacity.   See  ASH/National Heart Foundation media release 17/4/07      See  study abstract 

Smoking is NOT sexy  
Another tobacco PR myth exposed - by this March 2005 survey from Glaxo Smith Kline. 

Clear the air for better learning
US research shows passive smoke - even a small amount - shaves points off kids' IQ, harming their reading, maths and reasoning abilities.


Kids from smoky homes more likely to miss school
Behind those chronic respiratory-related absences may be a smoky home environment. OK, we know some students might want to miss a bit of school - but not to stay home coughing and wheezing!

 

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

How smoking can change your face
Good  interactive photo-graphic game  where you can use a photo on the site or upload your own pic and then modify it the way smoking can.

Try our ASH crossword no.2    
Here's a fun and informative way of getting familiar with tobacco issues, with our website, and with some other relevant sites. A useful educational tool! 
Or try our earlier ASH crossword

The Critics' Choice (NSW only)
Competition with prizes, for NSW secondary or primary schools, involving assessing anti-smoking ads and other creative tasks. From the NSW Dept of Education and Training.

Tobacco rapped:  listen to this anti-tobacco industry rap from Sydney group Men With Day Jobs at indy site  Back Pocket Records. Go to Track 13 "The Truth Will Make You MAD!" to hear the verse and chorus. The title came from a tobacco-free youth slogan. Read the lyrics  (track 13 - verse 1 has a go at arms dealers, verse 2 is about tobacco). Do you think there's any difference between an arms dealer and a tobacco trader?

 

USEFUL INFO AND RESOURCES

Great music clip!  See this  YouTube video  made for World No Tobacco Day 2010, it's a good rundown on most of what you should know about smoking - what's in it, who's doing it, and lots more. Set to a cool Fatboy Slim track.

Protecting children from tobacco
ASH-led campaign with factsheets on shop display of tobacco, smoking in cars, the tobacco industry's targeting of youth - and what we can do about it.  A national coalition of health, child welfare, parenting, education, church and other organisations is on the case.

Sites2see
NSW Dept of Education and Training webpages for secondary students on  Smoke-free citizens  (for Geography)  and  Proud to be smoke-free (for PDHPE).

Smarter than Smoking
Good WA-based site
for people working in schools, communities and other youth settings. Info and resources to help prevent young people from starting to smoke.

Secondary student smoking rates (2005)
Latest National Drug Strategy survey of student behaviours showing there are still more than 140,000 Australian schoolchildren smoking at least weekly - and almost a quarter are buying tobacco directly from retailers.

Health effects of smoking
See brief summary from The Cancer Council NSW - and note that the evidence is growing all the time!  

View our Slideshows

Ghetto Science on smoking
Check this 3 minute  YouTube video  shot in Sydney. A young American conducts a simple but powerful experiment. Good how it doesn't talk down to you - but a bit thoughtless how he flicks the cigarette away. And we DON'T recommend you try it for yourself - unless you want to get the stuff in YOUR lungs, and risk getting hooked.

OxyGen
Is a web site created and funded by the South Australian Smoking and Health Project, Smarter than Smoking Project (WA) and Quit Victoria to promote and encourage healthy lifestyle choices and provide information on the impact of tobacco.

Smoking in movies  
Great Cancer Council NSW  webpages with links to taking action - including current campaign:  



Project Moving Target

Innovative Canadian program for school students, encouraging independent thought on tobacco issues and Big Tobacco deception. Based on the book You Are the Target by Georgina Lovell.

Cancer Council NSW
Resources for students in NSW. Free resources for teachers including:

  • Tobacco and the environment (suitable for secondary school)
  • Facts about passive smoking
  • Benefits of quitting
  • Tobacco and the law
  • Smoking statistics
  • What's in cigarettes?

Cancer Foundation of WA
Resources for students in WA. 

Tobacco-control Resource Center Fact Sheets
Fact sheets on tobacco advertising, economics of tobacco, the nurse's role, second-hand smoke, prevalence surveys, product regulation, tobacco smuggling, youth and cigarettes.

Health Edco anti-smoking products
US-based company has some catchy books, displays, puppets, models and other stuff available for purchase - could be useful; for teaching truths about tobacco. Go to the site and search under keyword "tobacco".

Smoke Screeners
From the US National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, a well-produced and lively educational program allowing students to recognise and evaluate media messages in TV and films about smoking. Includes videos, activities and more.

 

THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND YOUTH

Tobacco giant's resource for schools (not!)
Warning: Don't be fooled by a school resource on smoking commissioned by the world's largest tobacco company. See the scam pulled apart by a savvy academic.

"Unlawful, deceptive and lethal" 
See the tobacco industry's long and continuing history of unethical conduct: misleading governments and the public, targeting young people, undermining medical research.

 

ON THE "LIGHTER" (OUCH!) SIDE...

Who?
Look who started his stellar acting career doing an anti-tobacco spot! Blink and you'll miss him, young laddie standing at left with his hands in his pockets in the first scene and reappears near the end. Warning: heavy Scots accent may require translation. Whee-ooo! 
YouTube video 

Smokers get a bit of a shock when they order a  Smoking taxi

Satire:  Licensed to Kill
Students will enjoy this: a satirical "cigarette company" on a US site aiming to highlight government co-operation with tobacco companies, and the nature of the industry behind the worldwide death and disease. The "brand" is the brainchild of Essential Action, a corporate responsibility group based in Washington DC. 

Why smokers are victims
Think smoking is cool and nonconformist? Think again.... An edgy little niche campaign targeted at street media and aiming to challenge youth. What's your reaction? Let us know at staffords@ashaust.org.au 


 
 

 Page last updated on 28/9/11