Added on 19/01/10
Smoking cessation has been given a great deal of media coverage of late, from Television ads through to stories in the media and the main focus is often on the damage to children’s health. Television campaigns have depicted powerful images of children talking about their wish for the parent to quit and others have even used powerful imagery of children effectively smoking, when they are exposed to 2nd hand smoke.
Government schemes, including the infamous smoking ban, have failed to reduce the number of smokers sufficiently but ten year old Megan Ward has discovered an ingenious way in which get the message across to smokers. Despite still being in Primary school, she was able to develop a UV wristband (with the use of her own pocket money) depicting a plastic lung that shows the blackening effect that just 4 packets of cigarettes can have on our lungs.
At a cost of £34, Megan was able to get a prototype made up by experts in China. She then sent the model off to the anti smoking campaigners; Gasp who placed 25,000 orders for the wristband as a result.
“It’s absolutely extraordinary that she has come up with this aged ten” said a spokeswoman for Gasp. According to her Father, 5 mothers from her school had been put off smoking for life after receiving their own band.
What do the stats say?
According to socio economic stats, the numbers of smokers amongst professional to managerial groupings are far lower than people from ‘manual’ and working class backgrounds. In addition to this, stats show that people aged 20-24 are more likely to smoke than any other age bracket.
Health experts recommend Champix, a proven medication, known for its ability to help with smoke cessation. It is however, vital that you consult a trained health practitioner before beginning any course of treatment.
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