Last year, a survey taken by students at Marmaton Valley, Humboldt and Iola high schools revealed that the percentage of teenage smokers in Allen County is nearly twice the state average.
“The Kansas average for students who smoke is only 12.83 percent,” explained Elizabeth Hopkins, the local Drug-Free Communities “youth mobilizer.” “In Allen County, that percentage is 21.86. Smoking here is way up.”
For nearly 40 years, the American Cancer Society has promoted the third Thursday of every November (reader, that’s today) as the Great American Smokeout, an anti-smoking advocacy campaign that 1) encourages current smokers to pocket their cigarettes for the day — with the idea that it could be the first of many — and 2) seeks to warn young people off the habit by highlighting its morbid consequences.
The Allen County Multi-Agency Team — the parent group of DFC — is spearheading an effort, along with groups like Thrive Allen County and area public health organizations, to get the word out, especially among the young.
“Teen brains are still developing,” explained Hopkins. “The nicotine just affects them differently. And it’s easier for them to become addicted. Ninety percent of adults started smoking before the age of 18.”
On Wednesday, Hopkins was joined by Iola high schoolers Alexis Heslop (senior) and Gaby Lampe (freshman) to discuss the advocacy efforts they’ve been making in recent days and weeks.
Heslop, who is the DFC Youth Action Team’s countywide sector leader, reflected on the justifications her peers provide when quizzed on why they smoke. “They say it’s to calm them down and to relieve stress.” Which is strange reasoning, said Hopkins, since tobacco is a well-known stimulant.
On Monday, IHS students joined Hopkins to paint the sidewalks outside Iola High with the grisly health statistics that attach to smokers, and they drew a series of chalk outlines leading up to the school’s front door, a reminder of the ultimate statistic.
“One out of five people die from tobacco-related causes,” said Hopkins, who has a definite head for statistics. “And the top three causes of death in Allen County are heart disease, cancer and chronic lower-respiratory disease. And, again, that’s just Allen County.”
On Tuesday, Hopkins, along with Thrive’s Jessica McGinnis, launched similar awareness efforts in Moran. And, on Wednesday, the crew was in Humboldt.
“It’s an important message for the county to learn,” stressed Hopkins. “It’s important that people really understand what’s at stake here.”
Teens target smoking dangers
