“That’s gross,” said one student.
“Oooh, that looks disgusting,” said another.
It was, no doubt, the most dramatic of all the demonstrations presented by members of the TKHS Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU). Using a gloved hand students felt the diseased pig lung and witnessed how the lung didn’t inflate properly when high school students pumped air into it.
The presentations to all the fourth graders were fun, interactive and educational, focusing on encouraging students to make healthy choices and be “nicotine free.”
One of the exercises demonstrated the many harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke and vaping. Another discussed the health problems that can be associated with tobacco and nicotine use. Students even learned about the eye-opening financial cost of smoking.
“How much do you think a pack of cigarettes cost?” asked one of the TATU members.
It took about six answers before students got the correct answer of roughly $8 per pack. Then they had to figure out how much one pack per day for a week would cost and then for a month, a year and five years.
“What could you buy for $240 instead of cigarettes for a month?” asked the high school students. “What could you buy with $2,920 in a year that you would spend on cigarettes?”
One of the more visual presentations had a student donning a pink t-shirt with healthy pink lungs, a pink hat representing a healthy brain, glasses with pipe cleaners representing nose hairs. But a transformation took place once the person started using tobacco products. The pink lungs turned grayish black. The tiny air sacs within the lungs turned black and even the nose hairs shriveled from the effects of tobacco.
The damage, TATU members said, can be reversed once a person stops using tobacco products. Lungs can return to a healthier color and nose hairs start to straighten out again. But some of the damage, they said, cannot be completely reversed, leaving areas of damage to the lungs.
TATU students also shared their own reasons for deciding not to use tobacco or nicotine. Some said they were athletes and wanted to keep their bodies healthy and fit for competition. Others were musicians who said they need their lungs to stay healthy to play their instruments or sing. Whatever their reasons, the mentors tried to give real-life examples of why they choose to stay away from tobacco and nicotine products. It’s an important message they hope Page fourth graders will heed.
TATU is a tobacco education program designed to help teens develop strong leadership skills while also influencing younger children to live tobacco-free lives. With guidance from the Barry County Substance Abuse Prevention Services, the TKHS TATU group each year delivers the powerful message they hope resonates with younger students.
High School students involved in the TATU presentations at Page this year were Jenna Robinette, Devon Barnhill, Noah Donker, Alyvia Zolinski, Peyton Morgan, Jazmin Villarruel, Lexie Watson, Alaina McCrumb, Jackson Lambitz, Olivia Hart, Mark Cuison, Milo McCormick, Parker Dahley, Reagan Chapman, Maddie Rose, Austin Hansford, Aubree Stevens, Exley Roon, Payton Hardy, McKenna Hoebeke, Abby Hoebeke, and Elise DeBoer.
TATU is a program of the Barry County Substance Abuse Task Force and Substance Use Prevention Services/BCCMHA and is funded in part by the Barry Community Foundation, Tobacco Settlement Funds. TK TATU is coordinated by TKHS counselors Jaime Nelson, Steve Guikema, and Ross Lambitz. TATU has been active in Thornapple Kellogg schools since 2001.