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Jersey
City -The New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services
(DHSS), together with Liberty Science Center (LSC), unveiled The
Unfiltered Truth, three innovative, youth-oriented anti-tobacco
programs, before an audience of teachers, state and local dignitaries,
and representatives from the state's anti-tobacco groups. DHSS funded
the development of these programs with money from the Master Settlement
Agreement (MSA) between 46 states and the tobacco industry and timed
their introduction to coincide with the Great American Smokeout.
"We
are fortunate to have an institution like Liberty Science Center
to work together with us in bringing these important messages about
tobacco use to our youth," said George T. DiFerdinando, M.D,
acting Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services.
"Liberty Science Center is unique in its ability to reach New
Jersey's school population. LSC reaches not only the thousands of
students who pass through the center each day, but also brings traveling
programs to children in their own schools. These programs are reaching
young people in grades 4-12 at a time when they are most likely
to be developing their attitudes about tobacco and making decisions
that can affect their health for the rest of their lives."
The
three programs include an animated 3-D laser show, Extreme Choices:
No Ifs Ands or Butts About It, designed for students in grades
4-12; a traveling theatrical production, Hot Air, developed
for grades 4-8; and The Science Behind Tobacco Use, a Web
site providing an illuminating look at the science of tobacco. Young
people can experience Extreme Choices at Liberty Science
Center free of charge on a first come, first served basis; Hot
Air will travel to classrooms through the 2001 - 2002 school
year; and the Web site can be accessed from anywhere, at any time.
"The
Unfiltered Truth reflects our profound commitment to combat
youth smoking by breaking through the barriers of conventional educational
methods to provide students with information about the dangerous
effects of tobacco in an imaginative and creative way," said
Emlyn Koster, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Liberty
Science Center.
Extreme
Choices features a teenager named Mike who gets hooked on a
new video game and is faced with making hard choices about tobacco
use; he soon learns that he must live with the consequences of his
decisions. Hot Air follows Jessica, a middle school track star,
her family and friends as they deal with the issues of smoking from
a variety of perspectives. The Science Behind Tobacco Use Web site
makes chemistry come alive, as viewers take the journey from seed
to cigarette, to tobacco's effects on the human body.
Extreme
Choices and Hot Air were both written by Michael Hollinger,
an award-winning playwright whose earlier credits include Red
Herring, Incorruptible, An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand
Boeuf, and Tiny Island, all of which premiered at Philadelphia's
Arden Theater Company. These plays have enjoyed over 40 productions
around the country and in London.
According
to recent surveys conducted by the DHSS, nearly 27.6 percent of
high school students and 10.5 percent of middle school students
smoked cigarettes in the last month. Informing young people about
the dangers of tobacco use is important, since more than 80 percent
of adults who smoke had their first cigarette before they turned
18. Among New Jersey smokers, one third will die prematurely from
smoking-related diseases.
Dedicated
to inspiring imagination and creativity through adventures in interactive
discovery, Liberty Science Center is the NJ-NY area's preeminent
science education center. Located at Exit 14B off the New Jersey
Turnpike in Jersey City, NJ, LSC has welcomed more than 6.5 million
guests since opening in 1993. For more information, call 201-200-1000
or visit our Web site at www.lsc.org.
Liberty
Science Center's anti-tobacco programs are part of the youth-based
component of DHSS's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program, which
is supported with funds from the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)
between 46 states and the tobacco industry. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recently ranked New Jersey as 11th among
the states in committing a substantial portion of MSA funds for
tobacco control programs. New Jersey's Comprehensive Tobacco Control
Program is designed to reduce the sickness, disability and death
among New Jerseyans associated with the use of tobacco and exposure
to environmental tobacco smoke.
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