Real-Life Communication
Everyone knows that smoking is a potentially deadly recreation.
Health educators know a lot about smoking and just how deadly it is.
An
alarming new survey finds that 53 percent of a local high school's 2,004 students
smoke cigarettes on a regular basis. You are working with the school board
to develop an anti-smoking program targeted at high school students. Your
part in the program is to develop a short true-or-false test to be administered
to every student.
Here are some useful facts:
- Smoking brings a two-times greater risk of fatal heart disease
- It brings a greater risk of mouth, pancreatic, kidney, bladder and throat
cancer
- It brings a two- to three-times greater risk of peptic (digestive, stomach)
ulcers
- It aggravates sleep disorders
- Smokers get more colds and respiratory tract infections than non-smokers
do
- Smoking causes increased blood pressure
- Smoking mothers run a much greater risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth
- "Smoker babies" weigh less at birth and are more apt than other babies
to suffer from asthma and ear infections
"Getting the word out is just as important as people responding,"
says health educator Irene McNee. "After all, people are more apt to trust
something when they know more about it. This way, they know the facts, benefits
and even the risks involved."
Using a few of these facts and a few
false facts of your own, develop a six-fact true-or-false test. Remember,
not all of the answers will be true, so don't be afraid to make up some of
them. An example of a false answer would be: "Cigarette smokers are more immune
to colds than non-smokers." An example of a true one would be "Cigarette smokers
get more colds."
After each statement, note whether it's true or false.