Tobacco Documents Online

WORLD TELEGRAM & SUN New York, New York August 21, 1962 ~ . "- F .a. -. . School Drive Mapped ~.~ To Combat Smoking .- . : . . . - :: , NY'U Workshop Uri Stress Be Pllaaed : On Mlein>fenaiii 61 HealiFlh Rx• r'L,F;Ax. f°[]B,HY, x•~rlA:Ta.!j~~,nS,nVrWrltrr 1~diaiC tr;"tron[s anri collegrF'u . While we want to infle.nre. Can do in ri...rciuta2r .4oun, i'tHe smoking behavior of . t ,een. peoFle filomi sn,nhii~; is one a^„"•,, it is essential '.o do sn .of the topirs beih,, rti,ruti5rrl u-it'ynt,t. xausing them to lo:c, . at an education ~+•nt i.;hnin on .,•rsl.r"t. for' their elders," do 'Smokingand the AdolerPnt"' .s~ , la„erl If Roscoe C r.. Bbouvn being held this Week by . iy ni1ee xorkshop's director, in, ' New York Universtty,' I- P-Nl,taining, the program's ob-. Sponsored by NYU's Sel,ool jectives• of Education; the workshop i•, "in the face of 'toaysaying" 4rovering the problem of' teen ; against smoking, the teen,ager age smoking in cooperationf •i•easonably may ask Th ,,en with the American Cancer So l why don't adslts give up smok - ciety, the city and state health; ing for their, own health and iiepartments and various pri-' to setus a gnnrll examrle?„' . vately supported healtn aigenciec JOURNAL . Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jula'e 7, 1962 Programs. Intended to p e r= suade children not to become smokers must be started before junior,hilgh _ schooiJ a study of 4,000 M i 1- waukee pupils ;h a s indicated, -The study was made by Robert C. Craig, an as: f sociate proes: sor of' educa- -tion-at Mar- quette uroiversi- ty, to evaluate t hie effective- nes§ of the American Cancer society's film, strip, "To Smoke or Not to Smoke." Miliwaukee schools began showing the film to pupils early last year.. Craig reported' the results of, the study Thursday at a meet- ing of ' American Cancer society staff members at-Chicago. Pupils at about. 40 schools, Including 10 high schools, par- ticipated, All the pupils filled' out questionnaires 'about t'heir smoking habits and attitudes. Craig $econd Questionnaire Used Half of'the pupils were shown the film; the rest served as con- • trolfr: -Six weeks later, all filled! out the questionnaire again. fDD3~".3 ~k/.3 . Grade School Fight on of the filtn), Craig said, "on the actual smoking practices of either sex at any grade level. There was, of course, such a small and uncertaini group of smokers at grades five and six that one could scarcely hope for marked •changes at thatit 'In, HS and Oni "In senior, high schnolic :w~here students may al,mady Matter of Habit Hieve started'to smoke," he sug',. -Brown advises a straightfor ee-sts, "control should he rm• ward'answer which he believes phasizd as a less desirahle should appeal to yotmg peo• h u t•-nonetheless acenpt'pble p1e;. Iit's a hard fact that once ?nethodi of helping preventi smoking becomes a habit, It' is rllsease•" difficult'' for mostr people to j An edveattonal' program in give up-and Impossible for ~,ollege should "reinforce aittJ+' some people. ":f"ades against acquiring tha ; As a basis for a school edu hubity" he belleves, "since many catirnnal program on smoking. `.Stludents whn did not smoke m. , Brown suggests the statement high •school, are likely to stat t' of the Amerioah Cancer So `when they enter colle€e, t+§4' r~iety: "If, you dmn't smoke- ' The city school system he~ ' don't start. It bbu srnoke-- San an intensive campaign last stop. If you can't st+3p-smoke winter to disrouragP its stu _ moderately." ' dents from smnking. 1`earnnts The primary e"rrtphasis inn were asked in emphasiie thn junior and senior high school, health hazards, including the . he advises, should be on de 71:'r'ssibilit;v of cancer. i; veloping an attitude in stu- The campaign a•illi continue thi' dents against taking up smok •s fall when efforts will be .ing,, and a secondary' approach ;madt to enlist the aidi of'tlhP shnulrU he towards delay-.;home; church andl community mrainin; a rrelay in the stu tin a coordinated proj;ram to :. z: ,... ,. rirnt'_c decision whether to ' d•'-velop in students an under smoke or not to smoke. .~.cLanding that prev~ntion is tUio fiisl bnrm n,f the".ap} ~,~XA "There were no- demonstra-t daily. Three pbr cent smoked Ible effects"' (from the showing j more. About half of' the 11th and 12th graders reported smoking daily,, incI:lud!ing 7.6p"a who smoked one •or two cigarets, I12%p who smoked a half a pack or less„ 14% who smoked a half to one pack and. 3.7% who smoked' more. More Boys Than Girls At all grade lewels, the study showed, there were more smok- ers among, boys than girls. Socioeconomic levels and the smoking habits of parentsiap- peared' less important than has been reported in other studies, Craig said. About 25% of the pupils Ini all g,raid e s said' that they t h o lu g H t they would smoke when older. The same per- centage said' that they thought it' was all right for their fa-, thers to smoke; 5 to 10% thought that it was all right for their mothers to smoke. First Steps, He Says Asked whether they thought smoking was a cause of serious disease, 60% of fifth and' sixth graders and, 80%p of 111th and, 12thigraders answered "yes:" "In general," Craig said, "stu- Ilevel:" • Craig said that the effect of the film on attitudes a bio u t smoking was "pronounced" at the fifth and sixth grade levels. In higher grades, group pres- sures favoring smoking madee the film ineffective. The film was designed to 1ie. shown to junior and senior high, school students. 3% of, Fifth Graders.8make I The study showed i that about 3% of fifth and sixth g,o'adersi smokedi daily,, neanly of tliemi less than half, a-pack per day: Among s e v e nt h and eight'h graders, 6% smoked d a i lt y; 41/ % smoked half a pack or~ " . . . less. - In the 9th and 10th grades, I 7- % sntoked, daily, 8% smoked' hajf tii pack or less atnd: 6%' ' smokeii one-half to' one packidents,, like their elders, appear reluctant to do what thevknow should be done. Still, iitforma- tion and' attitude changes are a first step. A real opportunity for formall educational efforts with respect' to. attitudes and behavior may exist in the early grades, before cultural influ- ences become too strong or op• erate for too long a time. ; "Our best hope is a program of ha-tth education which be gtns early and is continuous throughout the school years"' ~ . ` Craig said that the film ac y compiishedi its puipose of tn- ~orming about the dangers of moking, but "unfortunately, teen, agers who are already. ,smoking are far too likely too make the wrbng decision, eveni when skillfully and scientificaF ly informedl'• ; [Surgeon General Luther L. < Terry announced in Washing• ton Thursday that he would - appoint a committee to study the evidence relating to smok- ~ ing and, health. His predeces+ sor, Dr. Leroy E: Burney, re:, viewed the evidence in 1959 • and concluded that cigaret ,. smokiitg,was a principal caus- ative factor in the increase In lung cancer, which causes "1 annually;~tj about 40,000 deaths in the United States.J l