Documentary interviews of real people whose lives have been ravaged by tobacco use are intertwined with actual images of diseased lungs, damaged hearts, and various cancers to give viewers a true picture of the effects of tobacco. Real victims deliver a powerful no-use message. This compelling program delivers an unflinching expose on the terrible toll of smoking—one that will linger in the minds of teens long after viewing it. Program opens with riveting photos, transforming a healthy Bryan Curtis into a diseased shadow of his former self. Bryan’s widow tells her emotional story of losing her husband, and the father of their young child, only weeks after his cancer diagnosis. In each case depicted, viewers learn the terrible toll of smoking, chewing tobacco, and secondhand smoke exposure. Leading anti-tobacco experts weigh in with the latest statistics on morbidity and mortality rates, including the rising numbers of deaths of young adults due to tobacco use. In conclusion, real people speak about their own tobacco addictions, or those of beloved family members, and tobacco’s eroding effects on health and family. Armed with a barrage of damaging testimony, pictures, facts and graphics, viewers will be “grossed out” into “tossing out” tobacco.
Includes:
video, plus teacher’s resource book, student handouts and pre/post tests in digital format
Awards
Bronze Telly Awards
Columbus International Film & Video Festival: Honorable Mention
Reviews
Highly Recommended Tobacco and Death presents an excellent documentary, specially aimed at students in grades 7 through high school. The program graphically shows and explains many of the types of illnesses and cancers that smoking cigarettes and partaking in other tobacco-related products can cause. It is definitely not “pretty” which is what makes for a very engaging and powerful video. There is a student group interviewed together as well as personal interviews. All are excellent and deliver the reality of the nicotine addiction and habit and its consequences.
HRM delivers the video with a current curriculum to lead discussions and engage students in the classroom, including an extensive bibliography with resources that are packaged in a 3-ring binder. This Teacher’s Resource Book is very well done. The production of the video is professional and of high quality. But, it should be noted that some of the video clips are used in other HRM videos on substance abuse.
This resource is highly recommended for school media centers and community programs.
- Kristin M. Jacobi, J. Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO)