STUDENTS WARN OF SMOKING RISKS

Notre Dame High School students want to warn elementary students about the dangers of smoking before they light up their first cigarette.

About 12 students are acting as role models for a tobacco-use prevention campaign at area elementary schools. They will present a program called, "It's Your Choice," Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Jackson.

Other visits are planned for St. Vincent's and St. Mary's schools.

About 60 percent of smokers begin before age 13, so high schools students who are non-smokers teach a prevention program. The High School Heroes program, sponsored by the American Lung Association, targets students in the fifth and sixth grades.

The program includes an interactive video about a girl who is asked to smoke and a demonstration about how smoking affects the lungs.

During the 45-minute program, the high school students will light a cigarette to show its damage to a foam lung, said Notre Dame Counselor Linda Meadows.