News and Events
Clay County Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) Recognize Through With Chew Week
February 17-23, 2013
All it takes is a pinch!
That was the slogan for the Clay County SWAT Through with Chew week activity. Through With Chew Week is a nation-wide tobacco prevention celebration in February that calls to create awareness on the dangers of spit tobacco. SWAT students created an activity that had youth getting the dirty low-down on the effects of spit tobacco.
The SWAT youth suspended three clean mouth “targets”, and over 750 students fired “goo-balls” of black tar, yellow staining nicotine, and blood red disease & cancer to illustrate the self-inflicted, devastating health effects of spit tobacco use. Don’t worry, the tar, nicotine and disease “goo” was a mixture of water, corn syrup and food coloring, but it certainly had a gross effect that made the students think twice about choosing to use spit tobacco.
The SWAT youth also talked with each participant about how the tobacco industry targets teens with candy-flavored spit tobacco, and invited them to become involved with other SWAT activities in the community.
