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Games to Encourage Kids to Not Smoke

Using games to encourage children not to smoke cigarettes when they're in elementary school is an appropriate preventative measure to keep them tobacco-free later in life. Such games should give kids the courage to stand up to peer pressure and teach them the dangers of smoking.

Kids Against Tobacco Smoke
- Visit the website Kids Against Tobacco Smoke and click on the "Go Interactive" link. On the following page, click on the link that says "games section." On this page, children will be able to choose from a range of interactive games such as "Buddy's Body." This game allows kids to travel through the body of a smoker who started at the age of 15. Children learn about the effect that smoking has on teeth, taste buds and the liver. Kids even have to dodge fatty deposits and watch as more toxins soak into the kidneys. "I Beg Your Pardon" is a game in which children see the coughing and wheezing and other physical problems that beset smokers while trying to score points by making correct guesses.
Anti-Smoking Posters
- This activity is great for the classroom as it can generate discussion not just on the effects of smoking, but on the ways in which advertisers try to influence consumers. Ask children if they can remember any advertisements that they've seen for tobacco companies. Have them share their answers and then show them advertisements from magazines. Ask kids to tell you what they see in each advertisement and to guess why the companies chose those images. Put them into groups and ask them to design anti-smoking posters. Give them paints, markers and poster board. When finished, have the class vote on which poster that they find most effective in preventing kids from smoking. Present the winning group with a prize.
Games With Paper and Pencils
- Visit the Teacher Vision website at teachervision.fen.com. Click on the menu tab that says "Health and Safety" and then click on "Smoking" on the following page. This website has simple but memorable games for kids such as "The Effects of Smoking" word search. This game requires kids to circle words in a sea of letters that are direct results of smoking, such as "emphysema" or "lung cancer." Other games include decoding several Surgeon General's Warnings and making guesses about emotional and other characteristics of young smokers.

Kids Games