Smoking Prevention Projects

On its smoking and tobacco use fact sheet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that "smoking harms nearly every organ of the body." Even with this knowledge, it can be difficult to convince individuals to kick the habit. Smoking can become physically addictive and may be socially encouraged. To inspire yourself or others to quit smoking, use your creative side in a prevention project.

Shocking Statistics

• When you can compare numerical data with something that a person is familiar with, his understanding can influence his opinion. For a "Shocking Statistics" project, you can gather numerical facts about smoking, write them on a poster board, and supplement them with pictures and illustrations. Before revealing your facts, you can ask your audience for their previous assumptions about the health risks of tobacco. The average person probably doesn't think about the statistics of tobacco use and health, and will be shocked by the divide between his guess and the truth.

Images of Physical Degradation

• Smoking can take a dramatic toll on your body, and seeing the physical effects of smoking over time can be an incredible motivator to put down a cigarette. Gather pictures of the physical degradation of a person's mouth and teeth, skin or lungs. Label the week, month and year of each picture to show the rate at which these changes occur. If you can't find a progression of photos, use photos of a smoker's mouth or lungs and compare it with a healthy mouth or lungs. With permission, frame and place these photographs around your work, school or community where people are likely to take smoking breaks. This project can serve as an advertisement against smoking to compete with the billboards, commercials and magazine ads that promote the habit as an attractive, classic and enjoyable past time.

Disease

• Smoking causes and contributes to a host of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer of the bladder, cervix, esophagus, kidney, lungs and oral cavity, among others. Those trying to kick the habit have to confront the fact that with each cigarette smoked, they are compromising their own health. If you are teaching a group, have each person in the group choose a different disease caused or aggravated by smoking. As them to gather facts about how the disease progresses in the body, what happens to the victim and, if possible, pictures of the disease taking its toll. This project is simply about the facts of disease. When it comes to smoking, you have to do little more than present the facts to make a compelling case against this habit.

Alternatives to Smoking

• Many anti-smoking projects and campaigns take a negative angle with the hope that startling facts and pictures will encourage people to stop smoking. While this might work for some people, others may feel intimidated or discouraged by startling numbers and pictures and turn away from the message. Instead, make your project about alternatives and solutions to smoking. Brainstorm a list of things a person can do when she feels the need to smoke, such as chew gum, write in her journal, meditate, drink coffee, or even go for a jog. Form a smoking prevention support group for people at your work or school that meets once a week or once a month, where people who are trying to quit can support each other. Gather resources, such as smoking prevention hotlines, books and support groups in your city. Put this information into a pamphlet and hand it out so that people have a quick and convenient guide to remind them of the importance of their health.