Effects of a smoking prevention simulation on students' smoking attitudes

American Journal of Health Studies, Spring-Summer, 2003 by Elizabeth S. Winge

The "Behind Media's Smoke Screen" worksheet is then distributed. Students are asked to bring newspapers and magazines with smoking advertisements in them. They reference the advertisements while answering the questions on the worksheet. The worksheet brings attention to cigarette advertisements and their intent. Students are confronted with what the advertisements imply and how this is targeted to them. They then share their advertisements along with their findings with the class, specifically concentrating on what the advertisements portray in comparison to reality.

On day four, students are asked to find out if their favorite movie shows people smoking. This is discussed as a precursor to the "Up In Smoke" activity Actual costs of selected brands of cigarettes are written on the blackboard. Students then complete the worksheets, based on the prices provided, to determine the monetary costs of smoking given different brands and amounts of cigarettes smoked. This makes students more aware of immediate costs of smoking cigarettes, which has been demonstrated to be more powerful than long-term health costs (Lynch & Bonnie, 1994). Students then spend class time familiarizing themselves with the operation of the NICoteen[R] Packs.

Beginning day five of the NICoteen[R] Program, students are asked to hand in their signed Student Contracts. The Student Video is played again to refresh the operational components of the simulation. Students take the "Ready to Burn" quiz to answer any last questions, and students are given a journal to record activities during the smoking simulation. Wristbands are then attached to each student's wrist.

Following the completion of the curriculum, students carry a small interactive device (the NICoteen[R] Pack) that resembles a pack of cigarettes. Students must carry the Pack throughout the weekend. The Pack requires the student to simulate the estimated amount of time an addicted smoker spends smoking each day by subjecting the student to the smoking regimen of an addicted smoker. Upon the Pack's demand of "a cigarette," the student must interact with it by touching the identification chip (ID) connected to his/her wristband to the back of the device (this identifies the correct person to the Pack). The Pack may demand "a cigarette" anywhere from ten to sixty times throughout each day, each lasting an average of three minutes. Using an identification chip (ID) and voice recognition technology, students must repeat an anti-smoking message into the Pack for the amount of time it would take to smoke a cigarette. The NICoteen[R] Pack records the student's interaction during the smoking simulation. When the student returns the Pack to the instructor, the instructor hears a report of the student's simulation, including the student's percentage of participation for the simulation. The simulations main purpose is to demonstrate "the loss of control a smoking addiction has on an individual's life" (NICoteen[R] Program Guide, 2000).