Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

October Celebrated For Healthy Lungs

The month of October was celebrated as Healthy Lungs Month in Arkansas. During this time, 165 volunteers visited classrooms around the state to give no-smoking presentations to 26,685 students, warning them about the dangers of tobacco use.

This year's program targeted first, fourth and seventh graders in 29 counties across the state. The presentations included a video, educational handouts and stickers, all provided free by the American Lung Association through corporate sponsors, Christmas Seals and other freewill donations. The volunteers increased the students' awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and also discussed ways to handle peer pressure. "Our main focus is to catch these children at an early age so they will never start smoking," said Sally Hudspeth, Field Representative for the American Lung Association of Arkansas.

Corporate sponsors who contribute financilly to help make Healthy Lungs Month presentations possible include ALCOA Foundation, Bauxite; Vratsina Construction, Little Rock; Timex Corporation, Little Rock; Texas Transmission, North Little Rock; Affiliated Foods, Little Rock and TCBY, Little Rock.

The volunteer presenters included local respiratory therapists, community leaders, health educators and American Lung Association chapter members.

"Last year over 17,000 Arkansas students benefited from these presentations and we were so proud to exceed this years," said Ms. Hudspeth.

For more information on smoking prevention programs for children, call the American Lung Association of Arkansas toll free at 1-800-586-4872. When you can't breath, Nothing Else Matters!