Great American Smokeout
Alyson Witt
What is the Great American Smokeout?
Homer High School offers many opportunities for its students to grow, achieve, and build camaraderie. Many students do this through sports and clubs, such as SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). SADD consists of about thirty members. The president of the club, Ellie Anderson, and the advisor, Mr. Massenzio, run the program. In SADD, students focus on helping not only the school, but also the community. Every month the club focuses on one way to help the community. During the month of November, they focused on the topic of smoking, specifically the Great American Smokeout, which took place on November 19th. To help promote non-smoking, the club gave out “quick-kits” which contained items meant to help people resist the urge to smoke.
What are you really smoking?
Cigarettes contain many ingredients that are used in other products, such as Acetone which is a ingredient of nail polish remover and an ingredient in cigarettes. Other examples include but are not limited to:
- Arsenic- used in rat poison
- Butane- used in lighter fluid
- Carbon Monoxide-used in car exhaust fumes
- Lead- used in batteries
What are the risks of smoking?
Smoking comes with many risks, such as strokes, gum disease, chronic bronchitis, and various types of cancer. In some cases the extent of the damage caused by smoking can be so developed that it can cause death. Today, three out of the five children that die each year, die because of smoking related reasons, including first and second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is when you don’t smoke but are still exposed to the effects by being around people that do smoke. If you wish to change these statistics, you should join SADD!
Sources:
"Tobacco Facts and Figures." Facts About Smoking and Tobacco Use. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
