!Tobacco prevention & smoknig education * A super talk for teens and youth!

Straight Talk About Tobacco is a motivational talk by Patrick Reynolds, one of the nation's best known speakers in tobacco education. It was filmed live before 2,000 middle and high school students.

This powerful, multimedia presentation helps motivate youth to stay tobacco free, and empowers them to resist the onslaught of tobacco advertising and peer pressure. It also provides students strong motivation to make more responsible choices about drugs, alcohol and other high risk behaviors.

Tragically, since 1988 there has been a 73% increase in teen smoking. Why? What are the new factors are influencing today's teens? Mr. Reynolds addresses the primary causes of the recent huge increase in teen smoking -- tobacco advertising campaigns targeting youth, peer pressure and smoking by stars in movies and TV. He talks in depth about smoking by Hollywood icons, and the attractive models in tobacco ads. He uses hilarious spoofs of cigarette ads, such as Joe Camel in a hospital bed. He shows heartbreaking before-and-after photos of Sean Marsee, who died from chewing tobacco at 19 -- disfigured, sad and in pain. He strongly warns about the addictiveness of tobacco. But he also devotes a section of his video to a new issue, which no one has ever addressed.

Why this video is unique

Mr. Reynolds points to a previously unidentified cause of the huge increase in teen smoking. The findings of a 1994 marketing study by the Coca Cola Company (Time, May 30, 1994) showed that large numbers of today's teens suffer from anxiety about the future, and have a keen sense of diminished expectations. Today, 50% of children ages 9-17 worry about dying young. (Time, May 3, 1999) Mr. Reynolds notes that because of this, many teens may be willing to take increased risks -- to have as much fun as possible now -- before an uncertain tomorrow arrives.

He devotes a new section of his video to inspiring youth to believe more strongly in the future. He reasons that if teens have a stronger outlook about the future, they will be better motivated to take care of their health. He concludes this section by urging the audience to stay tobacco-free, drug-free and alcohol-free, and points out that students will need their health in the "truly great and amazing times ahead."

Straight Talk About Tobacco also includes asides on how to study, making ethical choices, values, and positive thinking. The video is fully illustrated by live action clips and photographs.

To allow plenty of time for classroom discussion, the video is divided into two parts: one 25 minutes, the other 17 minutes. It is intended to be shown over two class sessions, and comes with a teacher's discussion guide.

About Patrick Reynolds

Patrick Reynolds is one of the nation's best known speakers in tobacco education. An unlikely anti-tobacco advocate, he is a grandson of tobacco company founder, R.J. Reynolds. But the family brands, Camel and Winston, killed his father and eldest brother. After turning his back on his family’s former tobacco business in 1986, Mr. Reynolds became one of America’s best known advocates against tobacco and smoking.

He inspires students to have faith in the future, as a new way to motivate them to stay tobacco-free and drug-free.

Fact: There has been a 73% upsurge in teen smoking since 1988, the year the cartoon camel was introduced. A new CDC study suggests two factors contributing to this: first, tobacco ads like Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man helped fuel the increase in teen smoking. A second factor is the influence of movie stars who smoke in films and TV. Mr. Reynolds discusses both of these issues fully in his talk, but he also addresses a new third factor, which makes his video unique.

Mr. Reynolds believes a new pessimism among youth has also helped fuel the rise in teen smoking. In a recent paper for the Stanford University Medical Review, Mr. Reynolds advances a new theory. He points to market research by Coca-Cola, which shows that great numbers of young people today suffer from intense anxiety about the future and "an acute sense of diminished expectations." (Time, May 30, 1994) Today 50% of children ages 9-17 worry about dying young. (Time, May 3, 1999) Believing they face bleak prospects, says Mr. Reynolds, many teens want to have fun now, before a very uncertain future arrives. He believes this attitude has contributed to the dramatic recent increase in the teen smoking rate, to increased drug use and to the rise of binge drinking on college campuses.

Photo by Visible Light / Mickey Krakowski
To address this problem, Mr. Reynolds devotes a portion of his new video to inspiring youth to believe more strongly in the future. He believes this will help motivate many to take better care of their health. Near the end of his talk, Mr. Reynolds achieves this by making four points. First, he teaches students to talk about their feelings, and second to think more positively. Third, he asks the audience to consider what real wealth is, and questions whether wealth is only about material things. Fourth, he shares his own strong faith that the 21st century will be a truly extraordinary time. He ends this section of his talk with the conclusion, "You're going to need your health in the truly incredible times ahead -- so hold on to your health -- and avoid tobacco, drugs, alcohol."

The basic text of the video may be found at our Message to Youth page at www.tobaccofree.org/children.html.

Cost and How to Order

Straight Talk About Tobacco

Special Offer

On orders received by December 1, 1999, the total price will be $145.00 -- $40 off the normal $185 price. Shipping is included. A teacher's classroom discussion guide comes with the video.

All orders must be mailed to us, accompanied by a check or purchase order. The video and discussion guide will be shipped by priority mail within three days of receipt of your order.

Please include your name, phone, and address where you would like the video shipped.

Make checks / purchase orders payable to Tobaccofree.Org. We do not take credit cards.

Mail your order to:

Tobaccofree.Org
P.O. Box 492028
Los Angeles, CA 90049-8028

Further discounts are available on orders of six or more tapes. Please call Glendene in our office at (310) 471-4270 for further information about quantity orders.

Note: This video is licensed for viewing at only one school, and may not be loaned or distributed to other schools. Resale, rental and unauthorized duplication of the video are strictly prohibited by law.

Text of the Video

The basic text of the video may be found at our Message to Youth page, http://www.tobaccofree.org/children.html. For the complete portion on inspiring faith in the future, scroll two thirds of the way down the page, to the title in red, On the Recent Increase in Teen Smoking.

Quotes About Live Talks

"Mr. Reynolds' presentations made a strong impact in the lives of thousands of children in Whitfield County. He really made a big difference in our community."
Larry McNeilly, VP Hamilton Hospital, Dalton, GA

"It was just amazing to watch the faces in the audience as you spoke. You were really awe inspiring."
Carrie Van Dyke, Indiana State Board of Health

"Your presentation was strong, emotional and very captivating to the teens. The evaluations of the program were excellent. Powerful and meaningful!"
Frank Bartell, CEO, St. Luke’s Hospital, Maumee, Ohio

"Junior high school kids are the toughest audience. It was hard to tell when Reynolds hooked the kids. Maybe it was the adolescent humor. He got a big reaction when he put up a slide of Joe Chemo, depicting the famous cigarette icon camel in a hospital bed. Maybe it was the shock tactics: before-and-after photos of a high school track star who chewed tobacco. 'They cut his tongue out,' he said, 'and he never could never talk again.' A half-hour into his presentation, a time span that normally would have tested all bounds of sixth-grade endurance, the kids sat spellbound. 'He had them,' said Kettering Middle School Principal Rusty Clifford.' "
Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News (Syndicated)

Above are testimonials about Mr. Reynolds' live talks. If you purchase the video, please send us your comments for posting here. Please mail them to TobaccoFree, PO Box 492028, Los Angeles, CA 89949-8028, or e-mail them to ReynoldsP@tobaccofree.org. Thanks for your support!

Thank you for caring -- and for helping our youth
stay tobacco-free!