| Tar
Wars presented to 5th graders
Megan Wilson, DNP, APRN from St. Mary’s Hospital talked to the 5th grade students at Prairie Elementary School about the dangers of tobacco use and how the tobacco companies try to induce youngsters to begin smoking and chewing. The presentation is from the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Tar Wars curriculum. Megan and the students calculated how much a person spends during a life time of tobacco use and talked about what other things the students could purchase with that money; such as a Kindle Fire, clothes and groceries for their family. She also showed tobacco ads aimed at various groups and helped the students figure out who the ads appealed to. They also talked about the short and long term effects of tobacco use and peer pressure. “I also wanted to explain to the students that if they have a parent or grandparent who smokes or chews that doesn’t make them a bad person,” said Wilson. “I wanted them to understand that years ago smoking was acceptable, even pushed on people and they didn’t know the dangers. Now we know the dangers of smoking so young people need to be aware of all those dangers and hopefully will never start using tobacco products.” 
Megan Wilson poses with the Prairie 5th grade class after her Tar Wars presentation. Photo provided by Cheri Holthaus. 
The students are running in place with straws in their mouths to simulate how it feels for a smoker who runs; to demonstrate the difficulty they have breathing. Photo provided by Cheri Holthaus. |
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