RANKIN INLET
Maani Ulujuk Ilinnarvik (MUI) teamed with Public Health to make an impact during Tobacco Cessation Week in Nunavut this past week.
Grade 8 teacher Phil McInnis tests his lung capacity during a smoking cessation fair at Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik in Rankin Inlet this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
Teacher Katharine O'Connell led the way in organizing the event, which saw a tobacco cessation fair held at the school for students on Feb. 18 and another at the community hall on Feb. 19 for the entire community.
Other activities held throughout the week included a tobacco cessation poster contest, a series of advertisement videos from the Smoke Screen program, a colouring contest for younger kids, a daily tobacco trivia contest, a series of tobacco cessation videos, the creation and hanging of public signage, registrations for the Time to Quit program and numerous other prize draws and contests.
O'Connell said this was the second year the school held activities to highlight Tobacco Cessation Week.
She said once Public Health confirmed its involvement this year, she met with department representative Joanne Quinangnaq to come up with the week's activities for within the school and the community in general.
"From there we developed a schedule and co-ordinated back and forth until we had everything in place for the week," said O'Connell.
"Myself and Joy Gawor co-ordinated the school activities, and we ran things fairly similar to what we did this past year.
"Joy's health class helped run all the stations at the MUI fair, and we also had a scavenger hunt for the students.
"Any student who found eight out of the 10 items contained on the list, and answered the questions correctly, had their name entered into a draw for prizes."
The test-your-lung-capacity station was among the most popular at the school fair, as was a bike station testing the blood pressure and endurance of smokers vs. non-smokers.
A number of students calculated the price of tobacco products to discover, approximately, what it would cost them to purchase snuff or cigarettes anywhere from a month to 15 years.
O'Connell said the students who participated at the stations received either a free T-shirt or sweater.
She said in addition to the health risks and costs associated with the use of tobacco products, she hopes the activities were effective in having students and others in the community think about what they're doing.
"People need to stop and think about it because they might not see tobacco as a big issue now, but using tobacco products will catch up to you.
"It can very hard for anyone - a student, youth or an adult - to think long term about what the consequences are going to be.
"It may not be affecting you today but when you stop and think about it, in 10 or 15 years it can definitely affect you.
"Smoking is such a nasty habit, and so is chewing snuff, but, unfortunately, you don't see the negative effects right away, or a lot more people would quit."
Principal Jesse Payne said encouraging students to stay away from tobacco products is a big part of the school curriculum.
He said the anti-tobacco message is delivered in each and every one of MUI's health programs.
"In addition to smoking, we also target snuff chewing and anything else that has a nicotine base," said Payne.
"But, I want to point out it's an educational approach and we don't make it a punitive thing.
"Or, at least, we try not to unless it becomes an issue with people spitting stuff around the school or things of that nature.
"In that case, we'll deal with students through making calls to their parents."
Payne said MUI impresses upon the children just how addictive tobacco products really are.
He said anyone who has been a smoker in the past, knows just how hard it truly is to stop.
"Our goal is to educate, rather than punish kids for the use of tobacco products.
"Smoking on the school grounds is not allowed, and we do what we can to strongly discourage it.
"Really, we don't have a lot of student smokers at MUI, or, if we do, they don't smoke here at the school.
"And we have very few among our staff members who smoke or use any kind of tobacco products, and that's just the way we like it."
