On Dec. 4, I had the privilege of being a member of a panel that met with a group of sixth graders at Searsport Elementary School. I taught school for 28 years before surviving a bout with throat cancer. I would like to compliment these future leaders for being so attentive and well behaved. Their questions and concerns about cigarette smoking were mature and thoughtful, they are a credit to their families, school and community.

Cigarette smoke contains 7,000 chemicals, 4,000 of those chemicals are poisonous, and at least 43 of those chemicals cause cancer. We now know that the chemicals in cigarette smoke affect DNA, the very building blocks itself. A pregnant woman who smokes passes the poisonous chemicals she inhales into the developing fetus, where the chemicals can cause spontaneous abortion or can cause the baby to have lower birth weight and birth defects of a physical, emotional and intellectual nature. Second hand smoke has also been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

What kind of chance do the children have in a community where nicotine is epidemic? What kind of chance do they have in a state where the debate is over methadone clinics and providing computers to every seventh grader rather than a debate over nicotine addiction clinics?

Nicotine, the second cousin of cocaine, is more addictive than heroin or cocaine. Cigarette smoke now kills about 500,000 Americans annually. More deaths than from alcohol (including drunken driving), cocaine, morphine, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires and AIDS combined.

I congratulate the teachers, guidance counselors – especially Judy Cohen – and administrators at Searsport Elementary School for their tobacco awareness program, and I hope they will continue this important work until not one young person starts on the dead end road to nicotine addiction and death.

Gerald Oleson

Bangor