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.

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.

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.

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.

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.