Noble students get a lesson in consequences of tobacco

Noble High School administrators recently pumped the consequences of tobacco use into the minds of roughly 1,500 students, allowing kids to get up close and personal with an inflatable, smoke-stricken pig lung as a part of Kick Butts Day.

Kick Butts Day is an national initiative to raise awareness about tobacco use, and as part of Noble's annual display a pig lung simulating 20 years of heavy cigarette use sat on a table March 22 near the main entrance next to a healthy lung so students could actually see the impact smoking can have on tissue health and overall organ function.

The lungs were eye-catching, and many students stopped between classes to check out the table run by district Health Coordinator Rebecca Hayes and Caitlin Littlefield, a representative from York Hospital who is also the tobacco prevention coordinator for the Maine Choose To Be Healthy Partnership.

Many students said they found the lungs "gross," and while a few muttered they weren't impressed as they passed by, most students said the display definitely had an effect on the way they view smoking.

"I never wanted to smoke anyway," said Tyler Howarth, a 17-year-old senior from Berwick. "This definitely shows me not to."

Tyler Anderson, a 17-year-old junior from Berwick, said he doesn't smoke but does use chewing tobacco. He said the lungs strengthened his decision not to smoke but didn't have much of an influence on his "dip" habits — that is, until he noticed an artificial mouth simulating the effects of using the product.

"I'm trying to quit, and that just makes me want to," said Anderson. "I'm a little bit sick to my stomach."

The students weren't the only ones who took notice of the display, which also featured a variety of antismoking information and cessation options, as staff members who presently smoke or used to do so also said it helped change the way they look at tobacco.

Bill, a custodian at the school who declined to give his last name, said the lungs might be "the final kick" he needs to help him quit smoking, as he has been trying to ditch his 30-year habit because of his family.

"I won't know until I try," he said. "I know my lungs are black. If I quit, it won't help that because the damage done has been done. There's no fixing it, but I am trying to not smoke as much."

Hayes said she hoped students learned a little about the dangers of smoking in order to "do some outreach to some of the kids who might be involved in some of these at-risk behaviors."

She said often messages about the risks are brushed aside, which is why the school tries to make a stronger statement with the decidedly graphic pig lungs.

"It's great," said Hayes. "When they actually see it and how smoking plays a role with how their bodies function, it takes it to a different level."

School Resource Officer Rick Varney, a 20-year-smoker who kicked his smoking habit 20 years ago, agreed.

"It has a good influence," he said. "It's good for the kids to see it."

Hayes said smoking among Maine youths has been rising over the years, and Kick Butts Day is among a variety of measures the district is taking to buck that trend. Other efforts include cessation programs, as well as adult programs through the district's adult education program in order to effect change in Noble's households as well.