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Today my 11 yo son got in the car and immediately started in on me about smoking. (I had Bayou Morning in my Uncle Arthur.) The school has this Fat Albert program where the characters learn all about how rude it is to blow smoke on people and how their loved ones will fall over and die after living with an addiction they can't ever, ever quit. Ever. Then Fat Albert said HEY, HEY, HEY! He said it only focused on cigarettes and cigars - once again, the lowly pipe smoker is left out - and he was worried that I was going to fall over dead after polluting the world with my nasty smoke.
The next hour was spent talking about the differences between pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco. I likened it to the difference between natural foods and processed foods. Big Macs may taste good but you're gonna get fat off of them. We talked about the nature of addictions and how people will often do things that feel good while not realizing that the chemicals are altering the body. We talked about the reason kids under 18 couldn't buy tobacco... and after it all I told him that people who smoke pipes actually live LONGER than people who don't.
I understand the reason behind the education but it's too complex of a subject to be addressed in a 15 minute PSA when they haven't even learned about the nature of addiction. I can only imagine his teacher's reaction to my son's further education when he brings it up again!
Then, while picking up my daughter whose school lets out an hour later, the teacher who collects the car rider numbers did a double take when she saw the pipe. She came back to the car and told me how awesome it was to see a woman smoking a pipe and walked off with a huge grin on her face.
The next hour was spent talking about the differences between pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco. I likened it to the difference between natural foods and processed foods. Big Macs may taste good but you're gonna get fat off of them. We talked about the nature of addictions and how people will often do things that feel good while not realizing that the chemicals are altering the body. We talked about the reason kids under 18 couldn't buy tobacco... and after it all I told him that people who smoke pipes actually live LONGER than people who don't.
I understand the reason behind the education but it's too complex of a subject to be addressed in a 15 minute PSA when they haven't even learned about the nature of addiction. I can only imagine his teacher's reaction to my son's further education when he brings it up again!
Then, while picking up my daughter whose school lets out an hour later, the teacher who collects the car rider numbers did a double take when she saw the pipe. She came back to the car and told me how awesome it was to see a woman smoking a pipe and walked off with a huge grin on her face.
I try to be as honest with the kids as possible because they were born addicted to meth and have to be on medication to manage the harm it did to their bodies. It's amazing how messed up the school system is with incomplete and inaccurate information on nutrition and health. I read a study recently that said the DARE program in schools managed to do one thing - it actually raised drug use in teenagers. Teens are now more likely to obtain and smoke pot instead of cigarettes. Other drug use has seen a dramatic increase as well including street lab drugs and prescription medication. 
