I Will Pass On Cigarettes

- plays like Pass the Noodle

Purpose: Students will learn to work together as a group and work towards meeting established goals. Students will develop an awareness of some of the adverse ingredients of cigarettes and the importance of setting goals for living a healthy lifestyle.

Materials: 4-8 different colored noodles depending on the size of your group. The noodles can be typically bought at any retail store that sells pool supplies. Buy 4 long pool noodles and cut the noodle in half. To simulate a cigarette, you can take brown duck tape and wrap it around the noodle on one end to resemble a cigarette filter.

Activity: Ask group participants to form a circle facing to the center. You will need 4 different colored noodle cigarettes and for larger groups you can start with more than one of the same colored noodle cigarettes being passed at the same time. First, the group will pass one colored noodle cigarette by hand around the circle to the right. Second, the group will pass another colored noodle cigarette by their armpit to the left while at the same time passing the first noodle cigarette by hand to the right. The starting location of the second noodle cigarette should be directly across the circle from the first noodle cigarette. Third, the group will pass another colored noodle cigarette by an ankle squeeze and this noodle cigarette should be passed to the right while passing the other 2 noodle cigarettes in their set direction. Fourth, the group will pass another colored noodle cigarette to the left by a chin and chest pass while passing the other 3 noodle cigarettes in their set direction. The noodle cigarettes should be strategically placed in the circle at the 12, 6, 3, and 9 o’clock positions. You may set goals by timing the activity and look for ways to improve the group’s performance.

Processing:

1. What did the group do to complete this activity and improve performance?

2. It has been determined that there are approximately 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and the smoke it generates. Of those 4,000 chemicals, 43 have been identified to cause cancer.

BIG CIGARETTE: This activity will help group participants process around the issue of the chemicals found in cigarettes

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Materials: Take a white 3-foot, 3-inch diameter mailer tube. Place brown packing tape or paper on the end to make the filter. Print pictures with explanations of chemicals found in cigarette smoke (car exhaust/carbon monoxide, rat poison, mothballs, etc.). Roll the pictures up and place inside tube.

Demonstration: Have students reach into the tube, pull out and read the item to the group.

* Background information for the Group Facilitator:

· Acetone – one of the active ingredients in nail polish remover

· Ammonia – a caustic agent used in fertilizers and household cleaners. It is added to enhance the flavor of cigarettes, but also helps the smoker absorb more nicotine, thereby enhancing addiction.

· Arsenic – rat poisoning, makes your lips burn and is responsible for giving you bad breath

· Benzoapyrene – One of the most potent cancer-causing chemicals in the world. Found in coal tar and cigarette smoke.

· Benzene – Is an industrial chemical and a constituent of gasoline and pesticides. It is a group 1 carcinogen and is responsible for causing leukemia and aplitic anemia.

· Butane – A key component of gasoline, it’s highly flammable

· Carbon Monoxide – a colorless, odorless gas, which starves the body of existing oxygen

· Cadmium – used in batteries and oil paint. It is a group 1 carcinogen. It damages the liver, kidneys, and brain and remains in the body for years (>10 years). Is also excreted in the breast milk of nursing mothers.

· Formaldehyde – used in embalming (preserving tissue) fluid. Causes cancer and damages the lung, skin, and digestive tract.

· Hydrogen Cyanide – a colorless poisonous gas. Short-term exposure causes headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting

· Lead – Of the heavy metal group, stunts growth and damages the brain, kidneys, and nervous system. Lead is more easily absorbed in growing bodies, found in automobile batteries.

· Methoprene – an insecticide used to kill fleas on your pets

· Mercury – a heavy metal, affects the central nervous system. Exposure causes tremors, memory loss and kidney disease

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· Nickel – a heavy metal, affects the CNS, exposure causes increased susceptibility to respiratory infections

· Nitric Oxide – produces short-term effects on airway activity, high concentrations can lead to acute lung dysfunction

· Phenol – used in disinfectants and plastic, exposure causes skin, eye, and mucus membrane irritation. You might use this chemical to clean a labatory.

· Polonium – a cancer causing radioactive element

· Propylene Glycol – added by the tobacco industry to keep cheap tobacco from drying out, it also has been known to aid in delivery of nicotine to the brain

· Styrene – found in insulation material, causes headaches, fatigue, weakness, and depression

· Toluene – Highly toxic, used as an ingredient in paint thinner, CNS depressant. Exposure causes ataxia, tremors, cerebral atrophy, nystagmus, impaired speech, hearing and vision loss, headaches, dizziness and difficulty sleeping

· Turpentine – a toxic chemical used in paint stripper

Resource: 50 More Ways To Use Your Noodle, Chris Cavert