Answers, part one
1–4. Answers will vary. Review the answers students provided for these questions. This will give you a sense of your students’ experience with tobacco, but should not be shared with the students.
5. Explain to students that some young people try tobacco because of a “lack of self-efficacy in the ability to refuse offers to use tobacco,”3 or they don’t know how to tell their friends they don’t want to try it. Explain to students that people their age are sometimes pressured to use tobacco, and that pressure can be difficult to handle. Let them know that in this unit, they are going to learn some ways to say “no” and cope with peer pressure.
6. Explain to students that according to the Surgeon General, symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, nausea, and phlegm production can start to develop in young people who smoke.3 Moreover, students may have heard that quitting tobacco is difficult, but they may not know why. Read to your students the following passage from the Surgeon General’s Report “Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People”:
Most young people who smoke regularly are already addicted to nicotine, and they experience this addiction in a manner and severity similar to what adult smokers experience. Most adolescent smokers report that they would like to quit smoking and that they have made numerous, usually unsuccessful attempts to quit. Many adolescents say that they intend to quit in the future and yet prove unable to do so. Those who try to quit smoking report withdrawal symptoms similar to those reported by adults.3
Answers, part two
Answers will vary, but share the following with your students.
1. Most middle schoolers do not smoke: 2% are current cigarette smokers, which means 98% are not.1 (Current is defined as having used tobacco on at least one day in the 30 days preceding the survey.)
2. Ask students to volunteer answers about why they think young people use tobacco. Explain to your students that some of the reasons young people try tobacco are:3, 4
- They don’t feel good about themselves (low self-esteem and self-image).
- They aren’t doing well in school (low achievement in school).
- They don’t know about the health consequences of smokeless tobacco.
- They think lots of people smoke (overestimating the number of people who smoke).
- They don’t realize that they can become addicted (underestimating addictive potential of nicotine).
Ask students: Why do you think most young people do not use tobacco? Explain that most people choose to be tobacco free. Some reasons include:3, 4, 5
- Their friends don’t use tobacco.
- They know about the health consequences.
- They want to be tobacco free.
3. If students volunteer stories, remind them not to use names. Listen to their concerns and explain to students that feeling pressure from friends happens, but that they will learn some ways to deal with the pressure.
4. Again, answers will vary. Write students’ answers on the board, and explain to them that they are going to learn more about health consequences in Activity Two.
5. See answer 6 in Part One. Additional information on addiction is included in the Support Lessons. You can also see the booklet for grade 7.
6. Answers will vary. However, explain to your students that according to a poll, most kids strongly dislike being around smokers.6