Wednesday, August 29, 2001

Experiencing nicotine demands firsthand

New program helps school children learn what it's all about

If your child comes home from school this fall with something that looks suspiciously like a pack of cigarettes, don't instantly jump to fearful conclusions. That "pack" may be a school-approved device that is part of a comprehensive new smoking education program designed to give your child such "real world," negative, firsthand exposure to the demands of nicotine addiction that he or she will be far more ready to resist smoking temptations.

The "pack" is actually an electronic simulator shaped like a pack of cigarettes that is a key element in a comprehensive smoking education program called The NICoteen Program. It demonstrates to youth that they are "Not In Control" of their lives once they start smoking and become addicted to nicotine.

The students carry the NICoteen Pack smoking simulators throughout a weekend and the simulator's controls require them to expend roughly the same amount of time with the Pack that an addicted smoker spends smoking each day. To simulate a puff on a cigarette, the student must say one of seven special phrases into a microphone built into the Pack.

The Pack uses voice recognition technology to ensure that only the approved phrase is used, and it uses a student ID to ensure only the assigned teen is actually doing the smoking simulation.

During each "smoking" session, the student hears informative and thought-provoking statements related to smoking. The curriculum used with the pack is designed to stand alone or to complement existing drug and alcohol curricula. Activities for each day of the six-day curriculum take about 50 minutes to complete.

Most parents of teens and preteens worry that their children may start smoking, according to a recent nationwide survey conducted by an independent research organization for BTIO Educational Products, Inc., creators of the NICoteen Program.

In this poll of parents of six- to 17-year-old children, nearly 55 percent said they were "very" (31.8 percent) to "somewhat" (23 percent) concerned that their children might try smoking now or sometime in the future.

And parents overwhelmingly believe that schools can play a major role in making their children aware of the nature and danger of nicotine addiction. More than 90 percent of the parents surveyed said they believed schools should be involved and almost two-thirds of respondents said they believe schools should be "very involved" and that nicotine addiction education should be part of classroom curriculum.

"Although smoking in the adult population has remained steady, it has actually has been increasing among teens and preteens, which explains why parents in our survey are concerned about their children," says Mary Jurmain, CEO and president of BTIO Educational Products, Inc.

"The 2001 Surgeon General's Report on Women and Smoking, for example, shows that 30 percent of high school girls reported smoking in the month that study was conducted," Jurmain says. "This is very significant because nearly all women smokers begin in high school. The frightening connection is that 68,000 women now die each year from lung cancer, 50 percent more than die of breast cancer."

Jurmain contends that interactive educational tools are needed so children can discover the price smokers pay in terms of nicotine addiction. Tests have shown that students remember only 10 percent of what they read and 20 percent of what they hear, but almost 90 percent if they are involved personally, even if only in a simulation like the NICoteen program.

"It's been clearly demonstrated that having adults preach to them about the dangers of smoking doesn't cause children to avoid smoking," Jurmain adds.

This school year, the NICoteen Program will be introduced in classrooms across the United States. The research-based program applies several behavioral theories and meets the CDC's Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. In addition, several researchers are starting projects to assess its impact on youth who use it.

"If we are going to stop the increase in teen smoking, we have to let our children learn for themselves, in a safe, simulated way, the enormous, often lifelong price they may pay for nicotine addiction," says Jurmain, who, with her husband Rick, also invented the successful Baby Think It Over Program that gives teens simulated lessons about the burdens and pressures of caring for an infant.

For more information about the NICoteen Program and how it can be introduced to your child's school or classroom, call 800-830-1416 or visit the NICoteen Web site at www.nicoteen.com.