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Tunnel of horrors

Chris Puglia
Northern News Services


Yellowknife (Jan 22/03) - The eerie sound of coughing and the faint hint of tobacco smoke permeated the air of a 20-foot tunnel.

NNSL Photo

Nicole Krivan (centre) and Lee-Ann Campbell (right) of the Mildred Hall school BLAST group give a tour of the Toxic Tunnel to Campbell's brother Riley and their mother. - Chris Puglia/NNSL photo


From the outside it resembled a massive cigarette. On the inside it was a tunnel of horrors. Photos of disfigurement caused by disease as a result of years of tobacco use adorned the walls.

Called the Toxic Tunnel it was just one of the displays set up at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre on Sunday.

The tunnel was funded by the GNWT Health Promotion Strategy and is available to schools and organizations as an education tool.

A ribbon-cutting kicked off the start of Tobacco Awareness Week and allowed parents a chance to educate their children on the dangers of smoking.

Nicole Krivan and Lee-Ann Campbell, both in Grade 8 at Mildred Hall school, gave tours of the grizzly images in the tunnel.

They are members of the Building Leadership for Action in Schools Today (BLAST) group, which was formed following a youth anti-smoking conference held last year.

Other similar groups are at Range Lake North and Weledeh schools.

Krivan and Campbell are serious about not smoking and are hoping the middle school population at Mildred Hall gets serious too.

The BLAST group there is starting a quit and win contest to encourage the identified eight per cent of middle school students that smoke to stop.

"It's not good for the environment. It affects myself and other people," said Krivan.

She added when she sees people smoking she thinks it's "gross."

"I'm thinking I am breathing it in too," she said.

Campbell has talked two of her friends into quitting smoking.

"I told them I couldn't be friends with them any more if you are going to keep smoking," said Campbell.

Fallon Morton-Hamilton, 13, and Stefanie Milosovic, 13, from William McDonald school went through the tunnel. Both said they have never tried smoking, nor will they.

"It looks gross," said Morton-Hamilton. "And it stinks," added Milosovic.