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Show Students say smoking stinks prevention program set up v , j v V V.. , V. ,:; ' ' " - -v. ' 1 V -I I . - i " r" A -I - -".'J age of 13. The success of the Save A Sweetheart program is its emphasis em-phasis on smoking's social consequences conse-quences and short term physical consequences. Most young people have a difficult time relating to smoking-related smoking-related diseases like cancer and emphysema em-physema because they often take 30 or 40 years to manifest themselves. If we want to discourage smoking among young people we need to focus more on the dirty, smelly and unattractive aspects of the habit. It's important to draw a distinction distinc-tion between the individual who smokes and the smoking habit. After all, saving a sweetheart requires re-quires both sensitivity and a great deal of tact. By TODD THOMPSON Davis County Health Department Smoking stinks! That was the consensus of countless young people peo-ple who are free from the grasp of America's most foul smelling and dangerous addiction. Students at Millcreek, Bountiful, Kaysville and North Davis junior high schools participated in an innovative tobacco prevention program as part of their Valentine's Day celebrations. celebra-tions. The program, entitled Save A Sweetheart, is a school-based tobacco prevention program developed de-veloped by the American Heart Association. The program's uniqueness is its utilization of positive peer pressure to encourage smoke-free lifestyles among young people. Students at each of the participating par-ticipating schools submitted written pledge cards on which they prom-i ised to steer clear of tobacco products pro-ducts for the entire year. Upon making mak-ing the pledge, each student was rewarded with a burton bearing the inscription, "I'm Kissable, I Don't Smoke." Several local retailers got into the act by offering incentives and discounts to students wearing their buttons while making purchases. pur-chases. Just how successful was the program? pro-gram? A spokesperson for the county coun-ty health department noted that more than 80 percent of the 3,850 students enrolled in the participating par-ticipating schools pledged to be smoke-free. Kaysville Junior High had the highest percentage of participation par-ticipation with 86 percent. However, all the schools proved to be winners in their commitment to abstain from tobacco. Early adolescence is a crucial period in making health -related decisions. Statistics indicate that more than 70 percent of Utah's 23,000 teen smokers began by the , South Davis Junior High School ninth graders Lanese Beecher, Rebecca Fultz, Katie Gardiner, Jennifer Jen-nifer Gerber, Paul Hatch, Shontae Ludwig, Molly Mason, Deanne McMurray, Nikki Murdock received straight A's during the second term of the 1 990-91 school year. |