Focus: Put a picture of a healthy, young female on the overhead. Allow the class to observe for 30 seconds. Then, remove picture and put a new picture of the same girl, explaining to the class that this is what she would look like after 20 years of smoking. This will catch their attention and give some "shock factor."
Review: Brainstorm the consequences of smoking individually for 5-7min. Then have small groups (3 per group), share and compare what they wrote down. Go around and have students name consequences they came up with. Make a list on the white board as they share.
Statement of Objectives: Students will be able to identify physical and social negative short and long-term consequences of tobacco use as well as encourage others not to smoke and also acknowledge that smoking is of no benefit to them personally.
Teacher Input: Give introduction on smoking, cigarettes and tobacco. Explain the link between addiction and nicotine. Mention that there are many poisonous chemicals in cigarettes. Go over what secondhand smoke is ("Secondhand smoke comes from both the smoke that smokers exhale (called mainstream smoke) and the smoke floating from the end of the cigarette, cigar, or pipe (called sidestream smoke)" (kidshealth.org). Give statistics ("Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old" and "that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year" (kidshealth.org). During the lecture, include a comparison picture of a healthy lung vs a smoker’s lung. The lecture should last 20 minutes or less but be a strong introduction so students are fully aware of the negative side effects.
Guided Practice: After going over the basics, have students write down the consequences from the board (of their choice) on index cards. Have them draw a large venn diagram on a large piece of paper with the labels "long-term" and "short-term." Give students 5 minutes to place their index cards in the "proper" category. After everyone is done, go through the consequences on the board and explain each one in more depth. Then have the students raise their hands accordingly, as the teacher calls out "short-term," "long-term," or "both."
Consequences: (Also, this will be a handout for them to take home and help with the homework assignment)
1. Bad Skin: pale, wrinkles--smoking restricts blood vessels, prevents oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin (long-term, both)
2. Bad Breath/yellow teeth: halitosis--persistent bad breath (both)
3. Bad Smelling clothes and hair: stale smoke smell lingers and is hard to remove (both)
4. Reduced Athletic Performance: smoking can increase heart beat, decrease circulation, give you shortness of breath (long-term, both)
5. Increase risk of injury and slower healing time: smoking affects body's ability to produce collagen- so common sports injuries such as damaged tendons and ligaments heal more slowly (both)
6. Increase risk of illness: smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers (short-term, both)
7. Causes throat, lung, stomach, bladder cancer (long-term)
8. Higher risk for osteoporosis: decreased bone density (long-term)
9. Can cause fertility problems (long-term)
10. Causes emphysema, heart disease, stroke (long-term)
