Nicoteen

This "smoking simulator" is the modern equivalent to having a first time smoker smoke the entire carton to teach them a lesson. This much healthier and more effective alternative has the youth essentially tied to a cigarette pack shaped box 24 hours a day. The device will prompt them to say specific anti-smoking phrases into a microphone for a certain amount of time (equal to the time it would take to smoke a cigarette).
We have yet to use this item with our youth, so I am not sure of the impact or the student response. I will update this post once we have put it to use. I can't imagine using this item for students older than 8th grade.

Tar Jar

The Tar Jar is a standard prop for any health fair display. It symbolizes the amount of tar which would accumulate in a one pack a day smoker's lungs in a year. The dark, sticky "tar" is a real conversation starter among smokers and non-smokers alike.

What Mommy does, baby does

This small resin display is a realistic looking fetus attached to a placenta which is filled with cigarette butts, pills and beer bottle caps. This is a good display for students, and also when working with pregnant and parenting teens. It can strike up a conversation about proper nutrition, fetal alcohol syndrome, drug-addicted babies, etc.

Cigarette Ingredients

This item looks like a giant cigarette from one side, but when it is turned around it shows representations of the dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes. This is a great visual aid for illustrating the disgusting contaminants that tobacco can contain, and is a very informative prop for youth and adult audiences.

Lou-Wheeze

This item travels to various different health fairs with us, as it is durable and illustrates well the damage caused by tobacco use in the lungs. Lou-Wheeze has a healthy lung and one riddled with cancer and emphysema. She is connected to a bellows so that the audience may see how differently the diseased lung reacts. Younger audiences especially appreciate this, as it gives them a concrete visual comparison.

Smoker's Lung

This item is recommended for use only with current smokers, as it would be viewed as a scare tactic and virtually ineffective as a deterrent for non-smokers. It is a swine lung, stained and preserved, with a palpable tumor and "emphysema" that may be attached to a bellows and "breathe." Youth are generally fascinated and disgusted by this item, whether we attach it to the bellows or simply allow them to feel the tumor. With it in use, it is easy to demonstrate the effects of emphysema.

It is an interesting item, and one that the audience won't soon forget. It is particularly appropriate in conjunction with other information about emphysema and lung cancer.

Pickled Liver

This sort of silly visual aid illustrates the damage done to a liver after long term alcohol abuse. It is a plastic jar with a model of a liver with cirrhosis floating next to a model of a pickle. I only show this in conjunction with a picture of a healthy liver to compare.

Youth are usually really interested in this item, but mostly want to know a)is it a real liver (no, but it was cast from a real one), and b) can I eat the pickle (nope, it is plastic). I actually prefer my liver poster to this item, but this is easier to transport.

Mr. Dip Lip

Along the same lines as Gross Mouth, this visual aid is the lower section of a jaw and shows spit tobacco health consequences. Mr. Dip Lip has the lips intact, and the mouth can be opened and closed using the mechanism in the back. Unlike Gross Mouth, the tongue is not removable, nor can you get the jaw to be a "flip top head" and look at the full inside of the mouth, but it is more realistic.

Mr. Gross Mouth

This visual aid is a slightly larger-than-life replica of a mouth riddled with tobacco related disease. The teeth are decayed, some are missing; gums are red and diseased; there are several cancerous masses to see; the tongue has a cancerous spot. All of the ailments are attributable to tobacco use, and we use it with audiences of all ages. It is a real crowd pleaser.

Methamphetamine: A Prevention Trilogy

Produced by: California Department of Justice
Year:
Length: Meth...the Great Deceiver--17 min, Where Meth Goes.. Violence and Destruction Follow--18 min, Hidden Dangers: Meth Labs--18 min

Meth...the Great Deceiver

Where Meth Goes...
Creepy images illustrate the paranoia and rage meth may bring on in the opening shots. Shows a series of meth public service announcements that ran on television several years ago. Discusses the environmental damages of meth production, child abuse and neglect, and violence. The stories are so horrific that I will never watch this video again.

Hidden Dangers: Meth Labs

A Stone's Throw: Adult Alcohol Use and its Impact on Youth Attitudes and Behavior

Produced by: FACE
Year: 2005
Length: 5 minutes, 30 seconds


Really this is a elongated public service announcement, with artistic photography and a soothing voice-over. It illustrates adults inadvertent endorsement of alcohol use as children watch parents use and may emulate in their play and in their actions this use. Touches on parents' ignorance of youth use and the consequences, including death due to alcohol poisoning. Would be best used as an introduction to a coalition meeting or parent presentation.

Sort of dated-looking.

It's a Fact. METH is OUR Problem

Produced by: Placer County Board of Supervisors
Year: 2006
Length: 15 minutes


Graphic pictures of meth sores and meth mouth, testimonies from teen-aged addicts, and the faces of meth taken together paint a picture of the horrors of meth. The video is really Placer county-centric, particularly in the beginning introduction. However, it is relevant to all small communities with meth users.

This video is really appropriate for adult community members, and will have a lot of the "shock" factor for those unfamiliar with meth. It suggests, in very broad terms, some ways to combat meth use. Could be a good jumping off point for any coalitions, prevention campaigns, or community meetings.

this place.

Created by: FACE
Year: 2005
Length: 16 minutes


Addresses adults in alcohol soaked communities, outlines the different ways youth get alcohol, the number of places that youth encounter a pro-use message. Testimonies from various youth drive home the idea that youth are drinking younger and younger and often their parents are completely unaware, or in some cases, actually provide the alcohol.

Very arty, with music, beautiful photography, and a dramatic voice-over. Calls for the communities to rally together to reduce youth access and exposure. Good idea for an introduction to parent/community meeting addressing social host ordinances and/or environmental prevention.

Has an optional version with an introduction from FACE CEO Penny Norton.

Alcohol Exposed

Distributed by: Human Relations Media
Year: 2000
Length: 16 Minutes


This video, hosted by two high school aged youths, defines alcohol, alcoholism, the various effects that alcohol can cause and alcoholism in the family.

It opens with several youth testimonies on what alcohol does. I felt throughout the video that these testimonies were less than genuine, and sort of unhelpful. Many of the youth reporting used the "I knew a guy who..." type stories that did not sound truthful.

The hosts' scripts and the video clips, etc. were very good, informative. They covered the 'What is a "drink?"' topic, noting that the amount of ethanol is the same in a beer as is in a shot. Also addressed the length of time it takes for the liver to process alcohol, noting that old myths like drinking coffee and taking cold showers would not speed the process up. It also depicts an alcohol poisoning ER scene.

There is a pause in the middle for discussion.

The video also touches on other issues associated with drinking, like accidental death, hangovers, and alcoholism. They mention social and environmental cues that lead youth to drink. The video also shows a youth whose father is an alcoholic and discusses resources for such youths.

I thought the video contained some good information. However, it looked dated, with older clothing and hairstyles. The information is very introductory and I would probably only show it to middle school, 7th-9th grade audiences.

Don't Drain Your Brain: How Alcohol Damages the Brain

Distributed by: Human Relations Media
Year: 2003
Length: 15 minutes


This video approaches the way the brain works and the interruption to normal brain activity when alcohol is introduced into the system. The video features very young hosts, lots of sound effects and animation, and a theme park ride-like musical score through the course of the video.

Opens with a close up of a real human brain, so huge gross-out factor. The youth hosts are barely in their teens. The video employs a lot of flashing graphics flying in from all sides. They interview several health professionals to discuss brain activity and in the middle there is a cartoon to demonstrate how the brain works. The animation is very young and sort of crudely drawn.

The youth hosts use a lot of "teen speak" terms--only they come off sounding like they were written by an adult (as I am sure they were). An example: The female host is talking to a professor from Duke university and asks him "Why do you think the brain is cool?" I did enjoy a demonstration featuring sober and intoxicated rats in a water maze.

The dialog and animation is very young--I wouldn't show this video to an audience older than 5th or maybe 6th grade, and follow it up with a frank discussion. The information is good, just the format is very MTV circa 1984. I am not a fan.

Alcohol and Sex: Prescription for Poor Decision-Making

Distributed By: Human Relations Media
Year: 1998
Length: 21 Minutes


This video chronicles the problems that can result from alcohol and sexual encounters. The video focuses on date rape in particular, but also discusses STD/HIV risk and focuses upon Spring Break culture and the poor decisions made during this time in a young person's life.

This video felt pretty dated to me, with older hair and clothing styles, plus the opening scene featured a girl bungi-jumping.

Interspersed throughout is a very believable portrayal of the he-said/she-said date rape scenario, with the boy assuming that it was consensual, while the girl feeling that she was too intoxicated to have given consent. Note: I am not sure if the youth speaking on this are actors or the real participants in this issue. The video does really outline the lingering problems that occurred for each party, including the girl gaining a "reputation" and not wanting to participate in any further social activities and the boy being disciplined and kicked out of school.

The video also featured a small focus group of youth led by a health professional of some sort discussing the attitudes regarding girls using alcohol--whether date rape is the girl's fault since she got drunk, if the boy had a responsibility to stop if she was drunk and could not consent, if friends should intervene, etc. Additionally, rohypnol and GHB are briefly mentioned.

They also interview spring-break revelers to get their opinions about alcohol's role in the festivities and in sexual encounters.

While this video is noticeably older, the information is sound, and I will still use it. I might add a disclaimer to the youth that it was made more than 10 years ago, so the fashions might be different, but the information is worth listening to.

The Choking Game

Distributed By: Human Relations Media
Year: 2006
Length: 19 minutes


This video explores the recent resurgence of the "choking game" which is a cheap high youth may seek by restricting the oxygen to their brains and thus experiencing euphoria and blackout. What is new-ish about the phenomenon is that youth are frequently engaging in the behavior alone, rather than in groups, as had been done in the past.

The video opens with a heartrending 9-1-1 call from the twin brother of a child who died while "playing" the game alone. The boy is sobbing and crying and screaming that his brother is dead. Later interviews with the boy and his mom reveal that an older child taught them the "game" and that the twin who had died participated regularly. The 911 call is very disturbing and hard to listen to.

Overall, the video had some good information. The youth portrayed are very young--maybe 6th through 8th grade at the oldest, so the video may not be very relevant for older youth. It does have a very forced, sort of fakey scene with the youth relating the games they could play instead of this one. It did not seem very genuine to me, and I think it might turn youth off a little bit. That was a minor detraction from the overall message. I do think that the video is very valid, and will begin using it once school starts.

A note: a child at a school I was at actually was doing this on the playground. They don't see any problem with it, and genuinely think of it as harmless and a no-drugs high. I also don't think that staff, teachers or parents are very aware about this going on. Very disturbing.

Binge Drinking: The Rite of Passage

Created by: Solano County Office of Education and Timeline Media Productions
Year: 2008
Length: 30 minutes

This 2 disk set includes the 30 minute movie, a movie trailer, a poster, and educational materials. These materials include curriculum to be read, activities to participate in over a 2-hour period, pre- and post-tests.

This is a good video, very recent (one setting has an Obama 2008 sticker in the background). This video would be appropriate for 9th-12th grade to college aged students--exciting since relevant videos for this age group are rare.

This one relies a lot on adult testimonies (doctors, parents, alcohol prevention professionals). Is California-centric (specifically central/northern). Shows a story from Chico State, so great local relevance for us.