We have recently taken part in three sessions linked to tobacco.  They were very interesting and shocking, but more about the shocks later.  In the first session, we investigated smoking in general; who smokes today, where people smoke  and, more importantly, why people smoke. 

To get us going, we met ‘Mr McSmoky’.  He was a drawing of a man and we had a class discussion about the effects cigarettes can have on us.  Here are some facts which we found out:

• Cigarettes can cause brain damage;
• They are addictive;
• They damage your taste buds;
• They damage your lungs very quickly;
• They block your arteries;
• You will suffer from poor circulation;
• You will get cancer;
• You will get cancer from second hand smoking;
• YOU WILL DIE!

Since we are doing World War II, we also looked at smoking during this time and found out a few interesting facts.  Did you know that the British Government were keen for people to smoke? This meant that if people became addicted to smoking, then they would eat less and this would lessen the pressure upon rationing?  Also, there were lots of advertising campaigns by tobacco companies to make smoking look ‘cool’.  Soldiers and famous actors were paid to make smoking look cool and, so this would attract younger people to smoke.

As part of Money Week, we also looked at the cost of smoking.  We found out that if you were to stop smoking, then, in one year, you could take a family of four on an all-inclusive holiday to the Mediterranean!  To calculate this, we took a person who smoked, on average, 20 cigarettes a day.  If one packet costs £7, then after 1 year, that person will have smoked 365 days x £7 per packet.  This would equal £2,555.00 which is quite a lot of money.  If they stopped smoking, then after 5 years, they could even buy a car!

We also found out that many people still smoke, although the amount of people smoking is falling, but it’s still too many.  To get around this, tobacco companies have become extremely clever.  Today, they are targeting ‘us’ and they have been doing this through the introduction of e-cigarettes.  They have designed the e-cig to look fashionable, almost a fashion accessory and they have added in flavours which we like such as bubble gum.  We are unsure if they are as bad for you as real cigarettes, but we all felt that it is the feeling of holding a cigarette, puffing on a cigarette and the action of inhaling and exhaling that will tempt people onto smoking proper cigarettes.  We also looked at the packaging too and they are becoming more trendy.  Did you know that some cigarette companies have made their cigarette packets feel similar to using a mobile phone with a sliding lid? 

Next we met ‘Smoky Sue’.  She’s a doll who likes a cigarette every now and again.  ‘Bad Doll!’  Michelle filled up a test tube with a little water and then Smoky Sue had a cigarette.  At the end of the cigarette, the test tube had changed colour from clear to a brown colour with some lumps in it.  Using Smoky Sue and the test tube experiment, we applied this to ourselves.  The test tube became our lungs and we became the doll. To our shock and horror, we found out that even after just one cigarette, the process has begun and our lungs become coated with chemicals.  The more you smoke, the smoke your lungs become coated with tar and the smaller they become.  If you continue to smoke you can even burn small holes in your lungs! Yuk!  This led us onto looking at the chemicals in cigarettes.  Did you know there are over 4000-5000 different chemicals in cigarettes ranging from tar to cyanide to formaldehyde  (they use that on dead people!).  Some of us researched the different chemicals and were horrified with what we found out!

Next, we looked at second hand smoking and the dangers it can bring.  We found out that it is our right to be safe and if someone is smoking near us, we can move away from them.  We can also ask people to smoke outside our houses as we have a right to say what we think.  Even though we don’t smoke, we can still contract the many diseases and symptoms that smokers get.  We played a game called, ‘Who Am I?’  We were given statements and then we had to match the statements to items which second hand smoke affects.  For example ‘my curtains get brown when you smoke in here’.  We had to put that statement next to a house. 

Overall, we learned lots about smoking and the effects it has on young people.  We were shocked to find out that tobacco companies are targeting children our age to smoke, we were disgusted to see what happens to your lungs and tongue when people smoke and we were shocked to learn that for every cigarette you smoke, your life is shortened by 11 whole minutes.  We never want to smoke, but now it has certainly put us all off smoking.

 

Here’s our ‘words in a week’ which sums up how we feel after participating in these sessions:

‘Amazing!’     ‘Fantastic!’     ‘Mesmerising’     ‘Informative’     ‘Brilliant, yet scary!’

‘Flabbergasting!’     ‘Amazingly! insightful’     ‘Interesting’     ‘Captivating!’

‘Real and scary!’     ‘Fascinating experiments’     ‘attention grabbing’