1999 Curriculum Abstracts

Law and Morality

Tobacco And Our Youth - Elizabeth "Nancy" Odasso, Saddleback High School

Tobacco use leads to the death of more than four hundred thousand individuals each year in America. Life expectancy, which was 72.5 for males and 79.3 for females in the year 1995, was shortened by diseases such as cancer, pulmonary, heart and cerebrovascular disease. These diseases can be directly associated with cigarette smoking. An estimated 4.5 million children and adolescents are now smoking. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the average age at which children try cigarettes is 11.6 years with children as young as 8 years of age planning to or already having experimented with smoking. The National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse estimates that six thousand or more young people try their first cigarette daily and three thousand become daily smokers each day. A student who is not a smoker by age 18 is unlikely to start as an adult. It seems that smokers in their teen years regret their decision to smoke and 66% say they want to quit but it is too hard. Nicotine addiction is as difficult if not more difficult to quit as other drugs.

Why does the body eventually need nicotine? Nicotine binds with certain receptor sites on cells causing a heightened amount of neurotransmitters and hormones to be produced. These chemicals produce feelings of pleasure, reduce appetite and reduce tension. In fact Time magazine, in the May l997 edition called one of the chemicals &emdash; dopamine &emdash; the "master molecule of addiction." Smokers' brains eventually become dependent on nicotine to produce dopamine. This causes the smoker to use more cigarettes. When trying to quit tobacco use, 90% of addicts, including young addicts, experience withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, tension, irritability, impatience, fatigue, headaches or insomnia. About 75% of smokers who are tying to quit will return to smoking within six months.

There is a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. A press release on Dec. 18. 1998 shows "the smoking rate among secondary school students has started to turn downward. This year all three grade levels (8,10,12) show some drop in smoking." And a report from the CDC on Florida students during the 1998-99 school year shows a substantial decline among middle school males and a less substantial decline among high school males. Among the things sighted which may have changed young peoples views on smoking were control legislation and publicity on the consequences of smoking. The modest improvements seem to be most evident in college-bound students and those with parents who are well educated. There is then evidence that education about the dangers of cigarettes has deterred many children from smoking.

Students will engage in the process of debate on smoking and other controversial issues. They have already experienced a unit on the scientific method and have learned the steps needed to do research to support their positions on the issues. They will learn that critical thinking is necessary for every person to become a functioning citizen of the United States of America and that the scientific method can be used to make intelligent decisions on controversial issues.

Law and Morality

	Tobacco And Our Youth - Elizabeth "Nancy" Odasso, Saddleback High School

	Tobacco use leads to the death of more than four hundred thousand individuals each year in America. Life expectancy, which was 72.5 for males and 79.3 for females in the year 1995, was shortened by diseases such as cancer, pulmonary, heart and cerebrovascular disease. These diseases can be directly associated with cigarette smoking. An estimated 4.5 million children and adolescents are now smoking. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the average age at which children try cigarettes is 11.6 years with children as young as 8 years of age planning to or already having experimented with smoking. The National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse estimates that six thousand or more young people try their first cigarette daily and three thousand become daily smokers each day. A student who is not a smoker by age 18 is unlikely to start as an adult. It seems that smokers in their teen years regret their decision to smoke and 66% say they want to quit but it is too hard. Nicotine addiction is as difficult if not more difficult to quit as other drugs. Why does the body eventually need nicotine? Nicotine binds with certain receptor sites on cells causing a heightened amount of neurotransmitters and hormones to be produced. These chemicals produce feelings of pleasure, reduce appetite and reduce tension. In fact Time magazine, in the May l997 edition called one of the chemicals &emdash; dopamine &emdash; the "master molecule of addiction." Smokers' brains eventually become dependent on nicotine to produce dopamine. This causes the smoker to use more cigarettes. When trying to quit tobacco use, 90% of addicts, including young addicts, experience withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, tension, irritability, impatience, fatigue, headaches or insomnia. About 75% of smokers who are tying to quit will return to smoking within six months. There is a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. A press release on Dec. 18. 1998 shows "the smoking rate among secondary school students has started to turn downward. This year all three grade levels (8,10,12) show some drop in smoking." And a report from the CDC on Florida students during the 1998-99 school year shows a substantial decline among middle school males and a less substantial decline among high school males. Among the things sighted which may have changed young peoples views on smoking were control legislation and publicity on the consequences of smoking. The modest improvements seem to be most evident in college-bound students and those with parents who are well educated. There is then evidence that education about the dangers of cigarettes has deterred many children from smoking. Students will engage in the process of debate on smoking and other controversial issues. They have already experienced a unit on the scientific method and have learned the steps needed to do research to support their positions on the issues. They will learn that critical thinking is necessary for every person to become a functioning citizen of the United States of America and that the scientific method can be used to make intelligent decisions on controversial issues.