GHS clubs put together ‘Take Down Tobacco Day of Action’ event

On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, multiple Grants High School clubs coalesced to facilitate a Take Down Tobacco Day of Action. Students from the clubs, as well as staff overseeing the clubs, arranged for information booths to be set up in the front of the high school. Visitors and other students could access the event either through drive-thru by pulling into the GHS circle drive or through walk-up. The purpose of the event was to share information on the dangers of tobacco use for teenagers and young adults.

The four main clubs responsible for putting the event together were FCCLA (Family, Career, Community, Leaders of America), PADD (Peers Against Destructive Decisions), GSA (Genders and Sexualities Alliance), and Envolvement. FCCLA is a national club, PADD is a GHS-specific club, GSA is becoming a national club, and Envolvement is also GHS-specific.

The information that the clubs wanted to share at the event included statistics on tobacco use at GHS and Los Alamitos Middle School, as well as within specific groups of people such as the LGTBQ, said some of the club students who participated in the event. The statistics provided also exemplified the dangers of tobacco use and showed how the tobacco industry has changed over the years. For LAMS tobacco use, the students reported 16.8% cigarette use, 14.9% chewing tobacco use, 8% hookah use, 23% E-cigarette use, and 21% marijuana use (17.6% used on school property). For GHS, the club students reported 13.6% cigarette use (11.4% used on school property), 10.9% chewing tobacco use (12.4% used on school property), 11% hookah use, 36% E-cigarette use, and 29% marijuana use. The same statistics provided by the club students for LGTBQ youth at GHS all exceeded 40%, with E-cigarette use being a staggering 69%.

The students also provided other information regarding the negative effects of tobacco use, including suicide rates, anxiety, depression, et cetera. The students specifically wanted to target teen audiences and peers with this information. When asked if they thought tobacco use was a prominent issue in this area, especially for the youth of the community, the students responded with a confident, “Yes, very much.”

The students said that the Take Down Tobacco Day of Action event got a decent turnout. One student pointed out that it was less than they expected but that he was still satisfied with the turnout even if they only got to help one person. “If we got someone to ponder whether they wanted to smoke or not, that was our goal,” said the student. The students agreed that their hopes for the event were to spread awareness, provide the community and their peers with important information regarding a serious issue, and also just let people struggling with this issue know that they are not alone and that there are resources available to them.

“Hopefully it’s able to get to people who want to stop but don’t know how,” added another club student. “There are resources to quit, people to support them, and that yes, it can be a gateway out of your reality but in the end, it’ll cause more problems than good.”