Students Sustain Anti-Tobacco Measures

As a buzzer blasted through the silence early Friday afternoon at Penn State Schuylkill's gymnasium, once every eight seconds, a student dropped to the floor. Each student, including about 100 local high school students, represented a person somewhere in the world dying due to tobacco, and the drop represented the climax of Schuylkill County's Kick Butts Day.

"It's a solemn thing for the people who die," said Cece Boran, Penn State Schuylkill coordinator of health services, as the college's Nittany Lion mascot became the last symbolic victim to fall to the floor. "Imagine this happening every eight seconds around the world."

The drop ended a program that spread a message to the students: Do not use tobacco if you want a long and healthy life.

Ken Miller, 43, a 1985 Blue Mountain High School graduate who now is offensive line coach and special teams coordinator for the Reading Express Arena Football League team, told of his battle with tongue cancer caused by chewing tobacco since age 15.

"It took me about 15 seconds to be addicted," Miller recalled of his first chew in the high school parking lot. "I felt that I was an invincible human being."

That feeling of invincibility ended last April 22 with a single phone call, Miller said.

" 'You have cancer,' " was the simple yet devastating message, he said. "At 42 years old ... I'm getting hit with 'Here's death. Here's the line, your toes are on it.' "

Miller said the treatment regimen felt almost as bad as the disease.

"I had 38 radiation treatments. I had three chemo(therapy) treatments," he said. "I had a tube that came out of my stomach. I poured Similac in there."

Miller, a Hecla native who now lives in Lititz, said he no longer has cancer but the treatment was not without cost.

"I have 5 percent of my salivary gland left. I spit all my life. Now, I couldn't spit if I had to," he said.

He said he spent about $30,000 on tobacco.

"I don't have that money because I spit it away," Miller said.

He said he almost always must wear a scarf outside to stay warm and prevent himself from getting sick because of his tobacco habit, which he said he started to look cool.

"It was a stupid, foolish thing to do," Miller told the youths.

Then, it was time for the students to express their views as they staged 60-second commercials with the theme "Get in the Game: Sports and Tobacco Don't Mix."

They used baseball, basketball and other activities to try to convey that message.

Minersville Area High School's group produced a winning message. The students stood in a semi-circle, and as some recited the chemicals in Vogue cigarettes, others coughed and fell over. The last one said, "Every eight seconds, someone strikes out on life," swung a bat and fell over.

At the end of the skits, Minersville Area's commercial was filmed to be shown on the big screens at Regal Theatre, Laurel Mall, Hazleton.

Students said the anti-tobacco messages hit home.

"I think it's a great program to stop people from chewing or using tobacco," said Jose Diaz, a freshman at Shenandoah Valley High School.

"I liked it a lot. It really put things in perspective," said Jeff Bates, a junior at Pine Grove Area High School.

"It was really fun and eye-opening," said Christie Sborz, a senior at Minersville Area. "When everyone dropped, it just showed how many people die that you don't even know about."