National Magnet Laboratory Joins Statewide Campaign Against Tobacco Use

November 4, 1998

Contact:
Sam Spiegel, (850) 644-5818
Janet Patten, (850) 644-9651

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The State of Florida, through the Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control, recently awarded $1.6 million to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University to produce a science education program on tobacco use prevention. Science U kicks off on November 10, 1998, with a statewide Virtual Town Hall Meeting, and will culminate with the distribution in March, 1999, of new science curriculum materials to 1,475 elementary schools in Florida.

NHMFL Director of Education Programs Sam Spiegel spoke recently on the importance of this new initiative and its potential to affect change: "Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of disease and premature death today, and people begin to use it very early in life. This situation demands solutions that integrate state, federal, business, school, and institutional resources to address the problem by providing programs that change the way students and teachers deal with tobacco prevention. To this end, we are extremely proud to be developing Science U and hope to see it expanded nationwide at some time in the future."

Funding for the program comes as a result of the state’s lawsuit against the tobacco companies earlier this year. The $13 billion settlement, to be paid over 25 years, included an additional $200 million for the establishment of an anti-tobacco pilot program. In April of this year, the results of Florida’s first Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the Florida Pilot Program noted that more than 35 percent of the state’s high school and nearly one-quarter of the state’s middle-school students use some form of tobacco. Partly as a result of these findings, the comprehensive new learning resource Science U is being focused toward 4th and 5th grade students and teachers. By arming this age group with information, skills, and resources–presented in various multimedia formats–the program aims to reduce the use of tobacco products as the students move through the middle school years.

Science U is being developed by the NHMFL’s Center for Integrating Research and Learning in partnership with Training Solutions Interactive, Inc. It is a multidisciplinary, multisensory science resource that will include the Virtual Town Hall, web-based resources, interactive CD-ROM, an electronically published student and teacher guidebook, hands-on activities, and teacher training. Through these various media, students will be able to explore and understand (1) the harmful effects of tobacco on their bodies through scientific analysis and investigation, (2) strategies for handling peer pressure to use tobacco, and (3) the role that advertising plays in promoting addiction.

For example, students using the CD-ROM will have opportunities to create a virtual image of themselves (a "virtual you") through which they can observe the potential effects of tobacco use over time. The student will be able to place a digital image of his or her face onto the virtual body and select physical attributes such as skin tone. Once the virtual self is created, the student can operate an MRI system and view images of his or her lungs based on tobacco use. The student also can image the brain and other vital organs, noting the effects of tobacco use. Additionally, students will see changes in physical ability, like lung capacity, that result from smoking.

Science U will be introduced at a statewide Virtual Town Hall Meeting, on Tuesday, November 10, at 10:00 a.m. EST. This telecast will be beamed via satellite to schools, regional science centers, and local colleges and universities from the laboratory at Florida State University. The program will begin with a 45-minute broadcast where expert panel members, celebrity guests, and local students will discuss issues of tobacco use from a scientific orientation. Students from across the state will be able to join the discussion with local groups and through the website (http://scienceu.fsu.edu). The expert panel will include Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, former V.P. of Research and Development for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. Wigand achieved national prominence in 1995 when he became the tobacco industry’s highest ranking former executive to address public health and smoking issues during an interview on 60 Minutes and in a legal deposition. Celebrity guests include, among others, Governor Lawton Chiles, Coach Steve Spurrier, NSYNC, and Gabrielle Resse.