The Tobacco Industry Is Spending $1 Million Dollars an Hour to Turn Our Stores Into Their Marketing Tools What Can You Do About It?
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The Tobacco Industry is spending $1 Million Dollars an Hour to turn our stores into their marketing tools What can you do about it? 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org Introduction At Ramsey Tobacco Coalition (RTC), we enthusiastically combat the influence of the tobacco industry within Minnesota. RTC is a program of the Association for Nonsmokers-MN (ANSR). ANSR is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the human and economic costs of tobacco use in Minnesota. Our core commitments are to reduce the number of young smokers and to continuously advocate for the rights and health of nonsmokers. RTC has had a number of successes in battling the tobacco industry: Eight communities passed tobacco-free parks policies JazzFest and Rondo Days do not accept tobacco industry funding Ramsey County passed a smoke-free indoor air law in 2005 In 2009, the Saint Paul City Council passed the Imitation Tobacco and Novelty Lighter bill banning candy cigarettes and bubblegum cigars. Youth advocates testified in support of the bill. The Ramey Tobacco Coalitions has received funding from the Minnesota Department of Health and ClearWay Minnesota to do the following: Update local tobacco retail licensing provisions in cities. This could involve educating community members about tobacco industry influences (including new tobacco products), and how to create policy change around these issues. Complete community assessment of single little cigars including frequency, impact, community readiness and decision maker interest; Educate the Saint Paul community about little cigars; Identify policy options available for reducing single cigar sales in Saint Paul. Reduce point-of-sale tobacco advertising in St. Paul through continued enforcement of new sign code restrictions. Increase the number of smoke-free multi-unit housing policies in Ramsey County. Complete an assessment of community and political environment to determine if smoke-free foster care is feasible for project area (Ramsey County). The long term goal is to pass a 24/7 smoke-free foster care policy at the county level. Update and strengthen local tobacco ordinances. These would be “going further” ordinances such as prohibiting flavors, singles, and little cigars. Complete assessments in cities that have already updated their ordinances to mirror the tobacco modernization act. Build coalition support for statewide tobacco prevention initiatives such a as increasing the tobacco tax and smoke-free foster care. Almost 90% of tobacco users began the habit as teens, and the industry is heavily recruiting youth to become their next generation of customers. The following lesson plans are a tool to help students work toward a goal of understanding, assessing, and sharing information on tobacco adverting and marketing practices in venues licensed to sell tobacco. The lessons build upon each other and should be followed in order, to lay the foundation for completing an in store assessment and sharing the findings with the community. By conducting the in store assessment, student groups will gain a better understanding of the tobacco industry’s influence within their community and be able to assist in policy change. 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org Lesson Plans for Training Ramsey Tobacco Coalition 2013 Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Lesson Plans One Tobacco 101 – Introduction to Tobacco Two Marketing and Advertising: What You See is Not Always What You Get Three Child Labor in the Tobacco Industry Four People Power vs. Tobacco Industry Five Identifying the Tobacco Industry at Work in My Neighborhood Six What is Happening in My Neighborhood Seven Sharing Our Findings: Taking Action III. Resources Media and communications are an essential part of successful completion of the grant duties and the overall goal of reducing the harm done by tobacco. Consultant will actively seek opportunities to promote the tobacco/health agenda. All news advisories, releases, promotional materials, brochures, and publications intended for the general public should be submitted at least one week in advance to the program staff. 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org Lesson One Tobacco 101 – Introduction to Tobacco Lesson One is the beginning of a great experience and adventure in understanding the tobacco industry’s advertising and marketing practices, and becoming a knowledgeable advocate fighting against the tobacco industry. Before taking action against this deadly product, we must understand the harms of tobacco and its deleterious affects on our communities’ health. This lesson lays the groundwork for basic tobacco prevention knowledge. The advertising and marketing aspect is built on top of it in the subsequent lessons. Objectives and Competencies General knowledge of the tobacco industry and its subsidiaries Ability to explain how tobacco use affects our lives Understanding of the laws that restrict tobacco advertising and marketing Interest in fighting back against the tobacco industry Activities Activity: BB Demonstration Activity: What is in a Cigarette? Activity: Reading the Ingredients Labels Quiz: The Facts Optional: Have students check out the website: www.doingyoudamage.com Materials Needed Tobacco Education Kit o Activity: BB Demonstration o Activity: What’s in Tobacco? . Cards: What’s in Tobacco? . Additional Information Factsheet: Chemicals in Tobacco Factsheet: Other Tobacco Ingredients Factsheet: Cigarette Ingredients Poster: “What is in a Cigarette?” o Activity: Reading Ingredients Labels Copies of the Quiz: The Facts OR iClicker, Laptop with powerpoint presentation of the quiz, and Projector* Additional Resources Factsheet: Major Tobacco Companies and Their Subsidiaries 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org BB Demonstration (Adapted from Beyond War) Directions Turn off lights & have students put their head down on desk and close eyes. Read from the script. Pour in the bbs/popcorn seeds into the metal container SLOWLY as stated on script. Script We all know that tobacco is harmful to our health, but few of us really understand just how harmful it is. To give you a new perspective on the problem of tobacco, I’m going to ask you to think about what kills more people each year: hard drugs, alcohol, or tobacco? Here I have a metal BB. Now listen to the sound it makes when I throw it into this kettle. o Throw one bb into the kettle. Let the sound of one BB represent one death. First, let’s think for a moment about hard drugs – cocaine, crack, heroin. You think they’re bad, right? They are. They can kill you. Here’s how many people will die from a drug overdose everyday in this country. o Pour 16 bbs slowly into the kettle. That represents 16 people who will die from these drugs everyday. That’s about 5,700 people every year. What about alcohol? Do you think alcohol is bad for you? It is. If abused, it can kill you. Here’s how many people will die from alcohol everyday in this country. o Pour 342 bbs slowly into the kettle. That represents 342 people who will die from alcohol everyday. That’s about 125,000 every year. 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org Finally, tobacco. Listen to how many people will die from tobacco each and everyday in this country. o Pour 1,180 bbs slowly into the kettle. That represents 1,180 people who will die from tobacco everyday. That’s about 430,000 people every year. Three out of four people who are dying from tobacco started using tobacco before they were 18 years old. About half of them started before they were even 13 years old. TOBACCO KILLS…maybe not instantaneously such as caused by hard drugs but, think about this: the tobacco industry must recruit 5,000 new smokers everyday in order to replace those who have quit or died. This means that the tobacco industry needs to recruit kids. Remember, tobacco is the only legal consumer product in the United States today that, when used as intended, WILL KILL YOU. Engaging Questions to Ask What do you think? Did you know that that many people are affected by tobacco? How did you feel when the bbs kept pouring and pouring into the kettle? 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 651-646-3005 phone 651-646-0142 fax [email protected] www.ansrmn.org What’s in Tobacco? Supplies Needed The labeled items from the Activity Kit. The Activity Kit may include: o Container with liquid in it – Formaldehyde o Nail polish remover – Acetone o Vinegar – Acetic acid o Rubber cement – Benzene o Garbage bag – Vinyl chloride o Battery – Cadmium o D-Con kills mice – Arsenic o Candle – Steric acid o Toilet bowl cleaner – Ammonia Cards: What’s in Tobacco Directions Ask for nine volunteers. Each volunteer receives one of the products. Have the volunteers stand in front of the class, state the item he or she is holding (e.g., nail polish remover), and state the chemical found in tobacco that the item represents (e.g., acetone). Engaging Questions to Ask What do these products have in common? Why is there rat poison in cigarettes? (Answer: Helps keep the bugs out.) Why is there toilet bowl cleaner (ammonia) in cigarettes? (Answer: Helps nicotine reach the brain faster, satisfying smokers’ craving for nicotine – i.e., addiction.) Aren’t cigarettes just tobacco leaves rolled in paper? Why should someone be concerned about putting these chemicals in their body? 2395 University Avenue West, Suite 310 St.