Kids these days are too smart to start smoking, right? Maybe. But United HealthCare Corporation (UHC) and the Minneapolis-based National Theatre for Children aren't taking any chances. They are partners in an anti-smoking crusade that is crossing America with "2 Smart 2 Smoke" productions.
Currently, the actors are performing two 30-minute plays a day, five days a week in Washington, D.C. elementary schools. One play targets kindergarten through 3rd grade students and a more advanced play is for 4th through 6th graders. The theater troupe has been in the nation's capitol since October and has scheduled approximately 50 performances, according to Hanita Schreiber, President and CEO of Capital Community Health Plan, a co-sponsor with UHC.
"The actors are very skilled in getting the kids involved. The kids go wild, they absolutely love it … It's important to turn around the feeling that smoking is cool," Schreiber said.
While the plays are successful with the two age groups, Schreiber said her favorite play, for the younger group, is that of the three little pigs - with a twist.
"A wolf comes out and he huffs and he puffs, but he's a smoker and can't blow the house down. And a child in the audience is called to the stage and of course he can blow the house down without a problem. The kids go wild. They're taught a little jingle of '2 smart 2 smoke' and are also given a workbook to take home for their parents," Schreiber added.
The D.C. productions continued throughout November and will now move on, according to Candee Wolf, UHC Public Relations Manager in Minneapolis. "By the end of May 2001 we will have performed at 3,000 schools nationwide in over 23 states at a minimum. It's very exciting."
The 2 Smart 2 Smoke performances began in the spring and have been held in Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Birmingham, Ala.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Report of the Kessler-Koop Advisory Committee on Tobacco Policy and Public Health, there are 3 million underage smokers in the US smoking half a billion cigarettes each year. The CDC and Kessler-Koop research also concluded that five million children alive today will die prematurely from smoking.
For more information about the '2 Smart 2 Smoke' program, contact Candee Wolf at 612-936-1939 or Tony Baisley of Strother Communications Group at 612-288-2404.
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