BCOE Anti-Tobacco Presentations

For the last four weeks, all fourth grade students were introduced (via a representative from the Butte County Office of Education) to the effects of tobacco use, ploys used by the tobacco industry, and how to say no to peer pressure. I highly suggest practicing the steps available at the “how to say no” link (the page is copyrighted and I am unable to copy the steps here).

The following statistics were discussed during the presentations and should be reviewed at home. They are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: (1) Cigarette smoking is responsible for about one in five U.S. deaths annually, or about 438,000 deaths per year. (2) An estimated 38,000 of these deaths are the result of secondhand smoke exposure. (3) On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. (4) Each day, about 1,300 persons younger than 18 years of age become regular smokers; that is, they begin smoking on a daily basis. (5) Among adult smokers, 70% report that they want to quit completely, and more than 40% try to quit each year.