By The Numbers
48: The number of people in Green County who die annually of illnesses directly related to smoking.
853: Number of people in Wisconsin who have problems related to second-hand smoke every year. About 800 are killed in traffic accidents each year.
24: Percentage of adults in Green County who smoke. Across the state, 22 percent of adults smoke.
21: Percentage of high school students in Green County who smoke. That's the same percentage as statewide.
8: Percentage of middle school students in Green County who smoke.
18: Percentage of pregnant woman in Green County who smoke. Across the state, 14 percent of pregnant women smoke.
Source: The Burden of Tobacco, a report of the University of Wisconsin Tobacco Surveillance and Evaluation Program, the American Cancer Society, and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.
MONTICELLO - Middle-schoolers in Monticello have a message they want you to hear: Don't smoke.
Jaime Batz, public health nurse for the Green County Health Department, worked with the Monticello students earlier this month in a project to help prevent youth smoking. The result was three public service announcements that soon will air on the radio.
Batz used some stark visuals to help students understand exactly why smoking is unhealthy. She brought in preserved healthy pig lungs and diseased pig lungs so students could see the damage smoking causes. She showed students an array of common household items that contain the same deadly substances as cigarettes, items including batteries, disinfectants, mothballs, insecticides, toilet bowl cleaner and rubbing alcohol.
The visuals work well with youth because students can see the proof of the harm smoking causes, she said.
It's an important lesson for young people, Batz said. Smoking is more than just a concern, "it's a public health crisis," she said and offered some staggering figures on the cost of tobacco-related illnesses:
• In Green County alone, the cost of health care for tobacco-related illnesses is $13,570,000.
• The cost of lost productivity in the county because of tobacco-related illnesses is $10,310,000.
And it's not just an issue for smokers. "People who don't smoke say, 'Why should I care?'," Batz said. In fact, everyone is affected by rising insurance costs for smokers. People exposed to second-hand smoke also are subject to a variety of ailments, including bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia.
To help students understand the issues better, Batz and English teacher Tonia Swineheart facilitated a Radio Challenge project in which middle schoolers wrote a public service announcement. Working in groups of three, students developed their own PSA based on the theme assigned to each grade level. Sixth-graders worked on a message to keep friends from smoking; seventh-graders developed a quit smoking message intended for the general public; and eight-graders offered a message about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Students worked on the project for much of the month of May. On May 23, students presented their PSAs before a panel of judges. One winning entry from each grade level was selected. They were:
• Sixth-grade team: Lauren Schindler, Claire Bruns and Jade Green.
• Seventh-grade team: Emily Jones, Maggie Edge and Katie Nelson.
• Eighth-grade team: Ashley Schmid, Don Dubel and Lucas Carlino.
Gary Guralski of Big Radio came to the school and recorded the winning PSAs. They will be broadcast on the radio station in the next week or so, Batz said.
"They did an excellent job," Batz said. "I gave them guidance, but they developed them on their own."
Batz was particularly impressed with how the students were able to type in several different messages in their PSAs. "The kids did an excellent job of tying in other topics," Batz said. The eighth-graders, for example, had a scenario of two sons trying to convince their mother to quit smoking. They mention that the mother should quit because she is pregnant, and smoking could harm the fetus - an especially important message in Green County, where 18 percent of pregnant women smoke, more than the state average of 14 percent.
Sixth-graders also had a candlelight vigil in which they honored someone they knew who died as a result of tobacco use, Batz said. They followed up with a mural project in which they put handprints on a large mural and attached tags with names of those who have died as a result of drug or alcohol use. The mural also was intended as a pledge that the children won't use drugs or alcohol. The mural will be hung where students can see it and be reminded of their promise, Batz said.
Monticello used a grant for Alcohol and Other Drugs to pay for Batz's presentation and work with the kids. The health department has applied for a grant from the Department of Public Instruction to allow Batz to spend time in Monticello, New Glarus, Albany, Brodhead and Juda schools on a weekly basis to work with students on smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs. Monroe is not included because it is a larger school and would not qualify for the consortium grant, Batz said. The health department hopes to receive word soon if the grant was approved.
Jaime Batz, public health nurse for the Green County Health Department, worked with the Monticello students earlier this month in a project to help prevent youth smoking. The result was three public service announcements that soon will air on the radio.
Batz used some stark visuals to help students understand exactly why smoking is unhealthy. She brought in preserved healthy pig lungs and diseased pig lungs so students could see the damage smoking causes. She showed students an array of common household items that contain the same deadly substances as cigarettes, items including batteries, disinfectants, mothballs, insecticides, toilet bowl cleaner and rubbing alcohol.
The visuals work well with youth because students can see the proof of the harm smoking causes, she said.
It's an important lesson for young people, Batz said. Smoking is more than just a concern, "it's a public health crisis," she said and offered some staggering figures on the cost of tobacco-related illnesses:
• In Green County alone, the cost of health care for tobacco-related illnesses is $13,570,000.
• The cost of lost productivity in the county because of tobacco-related illnesses is $10,310,000.
And it's not just an issue for smokers. "People who don't smoke say, 'Why should I care?'," Batz said. In fact, everyone is affected by rising insurance costs for smokers. People exposed to second-hand smoke also are subject to a variety of ailments, including bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia.
To help students understand the issues better, Batz and English teacher Tonia Swineheart facilitated a Radio Challenge project in which middle schoolers wrote a public service announcement. Working in groups of three, students developed their own PSA based on the theme assigned to each grade level. Sixth-graders worked on a message to keep friends from smoking; seventh-graders developed a quit smoking message intended for the general public; and eight-graders offered a message about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Students worked on the project for much of the month of May. On May 23, students presented their PSAs before a panel of judges. One winning entry from each grade level was selected. They were:
• Sixth-grade team: Lauren Schindler, Claire Bruns and Jade Green.
• Seventh-grade team: Emily Jones, Maggie Edge and Katie Nelson.
• Eighth-grade team: Ashley Schmid, Don Dubel and Lucas Carlino.
Gary Guralski of Big Radio came to the school and recorded the winning PSAs. They will be broadcast on the radio station in the next week or so, Batz said.
"They did an excellent job," Batz said. "I gave them guidance, but they developed them on their own."
Batz was particularly impressed with how the students were able to type in several different messages in their PSAs. "The kids did an excellent job of tying in other topics," Batz said. The eighth-graders, for example, had a scenario of two sons trying to convince their mother to quit smoking. They mention that the mother should quit because she is pregnant, and smoking could harm the fetus - an especially important message in Green County, where 18 percent of pregnant women smoke, more than the state average of 14 percent.
Sixth-graders also had a candlelight vigil in which they honored someone they knew who died as a result of tobacco use, Batz said. They followed up with a mural project in which they put handprints on a large mural and attached tags with names of those who have died as a result of drug or alcohol use. The mural also was intended as a pledge that the children won't use drugs or alcohol. The mural will be hung where students can see it and be reminded of their promise, Batz said.
Monticello used a grant for Alcohol and Other Drugs to pay for Batz's presentation and work with the kids. The health department has applied for a grant from the Department of Public Instruction to allow Batz to spend time in Monticello, New Glarus, Albany, Brodhead and Juda schools on a weekly basis to work with students on smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs. Monroe is not included because it is a larger school and would not qualify for the consortium grant, Batz said. The health department hopes to receive word soon if the grant was approved.