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Elementary Smoking Prevention Activities

Tobacco-related illnesses remain one of the leading causes of death in the United States. For this reason, many schools and public health agencies have instituted programs designed to prevent students from smoking at an early age. There are a number of smoking prevention activities designed specifically for elementary school children.

  1. Vocabulary Building

    • To help younger students better understand the consequences of smoking, teachers should first attempt to familiarize them with some of the relevant vocabulary. Ask students to help define words and phrases such as "pollution," "lung cancer," "carbon monoxide," "peer pressure" and "stimulant." Use their answers to begin a discussion about what they know about smoking and its dangers. This provides the students a basic vocabulary to use to discuss smoking and allows the teacher to identify and correct misinformation.

    The Effects of Smoking on Lung Capacity

    • A teacher can demonstrate the negative effect of smoking on lung capacity through an activity that involves a student blowing out candles. The teacher should pick a student to stand in front of the class. The teacher should then place several candles on a desk and light them. The teacher should ask the student to inhale deeply and blow out the candles. After he has done this, the teacher should ask the student to draw another breath, but blow out only half of it. The teacher should then relight the candles and ask the student to blow out the remaining half-breath. Done correctly, the student should blow out fewer candles than before, thereby illustrating one of the effects of smoking on breathing.

    The Effects of Smoking on Taste

    • Another activity helps teachers illustrate that smoking reduces the sense of taste. The teacher should offer each student two pieces of candy. Each student should be asked to eat one piece of candy and make note of how it tastes. Then, students should be told to eat the second piece of candy, only this time while holding their noses. Students should be asked to observe the reduction in taste. This can lead into a discussion of smoking's impact on a person's sense of smell and taste.

    Viewing of Tobacco Ads

    • In this activity, teachers show students a series of tobacco ads and ask them to explain what the ads show. The teacher should then use student responses to explain how the ads are attempting to persuade people to smoke by associating smoking with certain types of attractive people, attitudes and behaviors. Students can then be asked to draw their own anti-smoking ads that provide a more realistic illustration of the habit's consequences.

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