IKAAHUK/SACHS HARBOUR
Students in Sachs Harbour say they hope the anti-smoking commercials they created earlier this month will help educate youth about the dangers of lighting up.

Students at Inualthuyak School in Sachs Harbour participated in this year's Smoke Screening campaign, sponsored by the three territorial governments. Students were loaned iPads to create their own anti-smoking advertisements. Back row, from left, registered nurse Andrea Donovan, Alexis Lucas, Casey Tai and Roseanne Lennie. Front row, from left, Caleb Lucas, Junji Tai and Meagan Kaslak. Not pictured, Cassydie Kudlak. - photo courtesy of Andrea Donovan

Casey Tai, a Grade 7 student at Inualthuyak School, and six other students recently participated in the Smoke Screening Campaign, an anti-tobacco program taking place in schools throughout NWT, Yukon and Nunavut.

He said he has learned how powerful a tobacco addiction can be.

"You can't help to keep smoking once you start, it's very addictive," he said. "If people want to stop, they can't really without a lot of support."

Andrea Donovan, a registered nurse in Sachs Harbour, helped organize and deliver the two-part program at the school throughout January and February.

She said the first component involved showing students anti-tobacco advertisements from around the world and giving them the opportunity to vote on which one they thought was the most effective.

The second part allowed students to create their own advertisements, called Get Reel. Smoke Screening co-ordinators loaned students iPads equipped with iMovie software in order to produce their own ads, Donovan said.

Tai collaborated on his video with two other students. Together, they came up with their own concept based on information they wanted to share, which was based on how much smoking affects a person's physical energy.

"You lose a lot of energy," he said.

Tai said he and his group members switched roles during the project, allowing one or two members to act while another filmed. The group then worked together to edit the video and add music.

"Thinking of ideas is the hardest part, but once we got an idea we worked on it," he said. "It was something we all co-operated on."

Terry Davidson, principal at Inualthuyak School, said the project helped reinforce the school's emphasis on living healthy lifestyles.

He said because so many people in the Northwest Territories are smokers, it can be hard for young people to avoid the pressure to smoke.

"I think because of examples out there in communities, it's very difficult for children to avoid it," he said. "This is one way that engaged them right where the rubber meets the road."

According to Statistics Canada, nearly 35 per cent of NWT residents smoke.

The latest report on youth smoking, published by the territorial health department in 2009, found that nearly 30 per cent of youth between ages 10 and 14 had tried smoking at least once.

It also found young people in small communities were three times more likely to start smoking compared to those living in regional centres or Yellowknife.

The report also noted that in households with at least one parent smoking, children were three times as likely to become smokers themselves.

"In terms of relative risk, children with at least one parent who smoked were 3.1 times as likely as those with non-smoking parents to currently smoke," the report stated.

Donovan said that's why prevention is key.

"The Northwest Territories has one of the highest smoking rates in all of Canada. For a lot of kids, it's something that's very common in their everyday lives," she said. "I think continuous education about the harmful effects of smoking is very important to help prevent kids from even starting."

Davidson said in addition to educating youth about smoking, the program also teaches students how to use technology, such as iMovie.

"In my room right now in a classroom of 10 students, I would say at least half of my students at any given moment if I said create a small movie or a small video about a particular theme, I think they could do it," he said. "I'm really very pleased about that."

Donovan said the program also helped to connect the school and the local health centre.

"It also fosters a really healthy relationship between the kids and the nurses," she said.

Donovan said when the project finished, students had created three videos on their iPads, which have been sent back to the Smoke Screening co-ordinators.

The advertisements will be posted online and participants will get to vote on their favourites beginning March 21.

After voting is complete, first, second and third prizes will be awarded to winners in each of the three territories.

Winners will be announced later in the spring.

Tai said while it would be nice to win, he hopes the ad he and his group members created will help prevent someone from taking up smoking.

"My target audience was people who are not smoking, to get them not to start," he said.

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