Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6th, some 230 kids from PS 29 will take a stand against cigarette smoking. As part of a nationwide celebration of 2008 Kick Butts Day, our fourth and fifth graders will stage a multi-event track meet, play basketball knock-out and otherwise exercise their legs and lungs while voicing their strong opposition to tobacco.
The kids will wear personally-designed T-shirts, colorful banners will fly, and there will be a special guest appearance by Sue Wicks, former basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association. She played with the New York Liberty from 1997-2002. Currently, Ms. Wicks is an Assistant Coach for the women’s basketball team at St. Francis College, Brooklyn. With members of the St. Francis team, she will lead a basketball demonstration for PS 29 students on Kick Butts Day.
Kick Butts Day was created by the organization National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids to give kids a powerful way to stand up against Big Tobacco. All year long students at PS 29 have been learning about the evils of smoking and they’ve wised up to the ways that companies market cigarettes to kids. They’ve learned about the 4000 chemicals found in every single puff of a cigarette. Ask a PS29’er what’s in a cigarette and he’ll tell you: dangerous chemicals found in rat poison, paint thinner and rocket fuel. Ask her if she’ll try smoking and she’ll tell you: “I’m too cool to smoke.”
The fourth and fifth graders who are participating in Kick Butts Day will wear signs that remind them and others of just how dangerous smoking can be. Some who lost a family member or friend to a smoking-related disease will wear signs that say “In Memory Of.” Others will display signs that say “Thanks To” for parents, teachers or others they feel have helped steer them away from smoking.
The PS 29 event, organized by physical education teacher Kathy Nobles, includes the Cardio Kids program and competing in dashes, hurdles, and the long-jump. Ms. Nobles feels a strong personal interest in the school’s anti-smoking campaign. Her father, uncle and several other close relatives died from lung cancer and her mother, also a long-time smoker, suffers from smoking-related illnesses.
Studies show that anti-smoking education can cut teenage smoking in half and ultimately saves countless lives. “It’s never too early to teach kids about the dangers of tobacco,” she says, “It’s never too early to try and prevent them from smoking.” Rain date is Friday, May 9th.
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