Students pick up a dirty habit

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sarah Gregory
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  There's no if's, and's or butt's about it; smoking is a dirty habit. Just ask the 80 Aviano High School ninth grade students who picked up cigarette butts as part of an annual Earth Day initiative April 19. 

The students cleaned up 10,390 cigarette butts from Areas One and Two. In 2006, the students picked up more than 8,000 butts. 

"You see cigarettes next to disposal containers and it makes you wonder if people are so lazy they can't go the extra two feet to throw it away properly. It makes you angry," said Sean Outing, ninth grade class treasurer. 

The ninth grade students also received a tobacco use awareness and prevention briefing April 25 from the Health and Wellness Center's tobacco cessation program manager. 

Senior Airman Carla Montiel, 31st Medical Operations Squadron, stresses early education and prevention because 80 percent of all adult tobacco users begin smoking in their teens. 

"That statistic is why we do prevention every six months," she said. "I'm a firm believer in early prevention because it's had a proven success rate against tobacco use in our youth." 

The briefing covered several tobacco-related myths such as the theory that smoking relaxes people and the effects of second hand smoke. While many of the facts Airman Montiel discussed with the students aren't pretty, she said they are important for people to know. 

"These facts aren't scare tactics but they are things the students need to be aware of so they can make responsible, informed decisions about their lives" she said. 

Airman Montiel gets the students involved in the briefing by using props such as candy for prizes and hands on items such as the tobacco tin - an object that replicates how a smoker's hair, breath and clothing smell. 

"As long as you use materials and words that keep it interesting for their age group, the students are more willing to participate," she said. "Kids aren't stupid and they don't want to hear the same things over and over again. They want to know how it pertains to them." 

For more information on the tobacco cessation program, call the HAWC at Ext. 4851.