• 8/20/2005
  • Pennsylvania
  • Jennifer Learn-Andes
  • TimesLeader.com

Group that urges teens to shun tobacco has formed at Hazleton Area, official says.

Luzerne County students reported drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco more often than their peers in other parts of the country, a new survey says. Of nearly 4,000 students surveyed in grades 6, 8, and 10, 50 percent said they have used alcohol, 30 percent have smoked and 11 percent have chewed smokeless tobacco.

The starkest contrast between local and national figures is found among students in the 10th grade.

Roughly 21 percent of surveyed Luzerne County 10th-graders reported using smokeless tobacco, versus 13.8 percent of their peers nationwide.

Other key findings:

• About 48 percent of county 10th-graders say they have smoked cigarettes compared to 40.7 percent nationally.

• About 74 percent of 10th-graders reported using alcohol compared to 64 percent nationally.

Binge drinking ranged from 1.8 percent among sixth-graders to 25.7 percent among 10th graders who reported at least one episode in the two weeks prior to participating in the spring 2005 study. Binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks in a row.

Officials of the county and human services agencies say they’re chipping away at all three problems.

Luzerne County Drug and Alcohol Director Mike Donahue said his drug prevention specialists recently learned how to start “Busted” chapters in northern Luzerne County schools. Teenagers in the program rally together and think up ways to urge their friends and relatives to shun tobacco.

“We’re spreading the word, uncovering the truth, and letting Big Tobacco know that if they’re looking for more teen smokers in Pennsylvania, they can talk to the hand,” the organization’s Web site says.

A Busted chapter is already in place in the Hazleton Area School District, said Ed Pane, head of Serento Gardens Alcoholism and Drug Services in Hazleton.

The agency also created a student board of directors that works with students, holds public hearings about smoking and drug problems and sponsors drug-free activities. The student board recruits restaurants to participate in smoke-free events and was slated to speak out during Wednesday’s Hazleton City Council meeting in support of a proposed smoking ban on public property.

“When young people are willing to raise their voices, both other students and adults should and will listen,” Pane said.

Getting kids to talk to other kids is the best approach because they usually tune out adult lectures and literature, said Mark Innocenzi, from the new Steps to a Healthier PA office in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Models or pictures of damaged lungs and blistered gums have lost their shock value for a generation used to video games and movies where heads get blown off, said Innocenzi, who plans to provide support starting Busted chapters.

“It’s all going to be peer education,” Innocenzi said. “Kids want bare, minimum facts. They also want to be recognized that they can make their own decision.”

The county’s higher-than-average smoking rate – adults included – was one of the reasons the government is funding the Steps office, hoping to make county residents noticeably healthier within five years.

Donahue believes inroads are being made through a cigarette sting program his office runs along with the county sheriff’s department. With parental consent, kids help nab store operators who illegally sell cigarettes to minors. Government funding for the program has been expanded through 2007 because of its success here, Donahue said.

The county funds youth alcohol prevention programs and is in the process of seeking additional grant dollars and ideas to expand them, Donahue said. But to really put a dent in the problem, adults have to stop acting like it’s harmless for minors to drink, he said.

“Alcohol has destroyed a lot of lives around here, and we cannot continue to say, ‘It’s OK. It’s just alcohol,’ ” Donahue said.

The same goes for adults who chew. Some fathers pass on the tradition of chewing during activities with their sons, almost as a rite of passage or bonding experience, Innocenzi said.

“Unfortunately they don’t understand that the nicotine is being absorbed right in the gums, putting people at a much higher risk of oral cancer than smokers face for lung cancer,” Innocenzi said.

Battling chewing tobacco may be even tougher than smoking, Innocenzi said.

“You can’t smoke in many public places, but you can chew,” he said.