• 3/24/2008
  • East Liverpool, OH
  • Jeremy Lydic
  • TheReviewOnline (www.reviewonline.com)

As part of an on going drug and alcohol awareness program, students were educated on the less-than-finer points of tobacco.

Kristen Ours, who works as a nurse at both Daw Middle School and East Liverpool City Hospital, gave a presentation on smoking and smokeless tobacco to Daw students Thursday. To demonstrate the harmful effects of smoking, a “smoking doll” was used to help students visualize what happens to a human’s lungs while smoking.

The doll would “puff” on a lit cigarette, causing the smoke and tar to stain the plastic receptor tube under the doll’s head. Ours and Wellsville D.A.R.E. officer Marsha Eisenhart, also passed around photos of healthy lungs, lungs afflicted from cigarette smoke, and lungs suffering from emphysema.

In addition to the harmful effects, Ours discussed reasons why children start smoking, citing peer pressure and a desire to look “grown up.” She also encouraged the students to talk to their parents about smoking, especially if the parents themselves smoke.

“You can’t order your parents to stop smoking, but you can encourage them to quit,” Ours said. “If they choose to quit, be their biggest supporter.”

Along with the doll, Ours showed students a sealed jar of tar from cigarettes. The thick, black substance was the amount of tar a person could intake from one year of smoking 20 cigarettes a day, Ours said.

Smokeless tobacco was also discussed, because Eisenhart said snuff and dip tobacco is becoming more and more popular.

“Snuff is on the rise, and it’s important for the students to see what it can do to people,” Eisenhart said.

Photos of two throat cancer victims were passed around so the students could see the results of chew tobacco and throat cancer. One of the photos was of 19-year-old Sean Marsee, who died from spreading cancer after his tongue and jaw were removed.

Ours used a model of a mouth afflicted with various types of cancer, growths and stains to show what can happen to someone who uses chew tobacco. The visual aides were from ELCH’s educational program.

After the presentation, Eisenhart challenged the students with questions who answered without hesitation. From their studies, students were able to recite facts such as more than 200 poisons in tobacco including nicotine, tobacco use leads to susceptibility to colds and upper respiratory problems and 400,000 people die each year from tobacco. She also discussed laws surrounding tobacco, such as legal age to purchase and where smoking is prohibited.

Eisenhart said the D.A.R.E. program was made possible from donations from local businesses. Donated money is used to purchase prizes up for drawing for each student who brings their completed D.A.R.E. workbook to class for each presentation.

The program educates students on topics ranging from tobacco to drugs, alcohol to bullying, and how to make good decisions.