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Libertyville High students strike out smoking

Frozen turkey bowling was perhaps the most visual activity, but it wasn't the only effort Libertyville High School students used to snuff out smoking.

The event on Nov. 19 coincided with the Great American Smokeout. Students paid $1 for two throws of a frozen turkey at bowling pins made to look like cigarettes.

"At first the kids were curious but then the more kids began to throw the frozen turkeys, it piqued their interest," said Susan Swartz, public relations manager for the American Cancer Society in suburban Chicago.

The activity was a first for CATS Against Cancer, a student club with about 30, members formed last spring. The turkey bowl was one in a week of events, activities and informational offerings.

"We had a lot of students coming up to us in the hallways," said Alex Kouzoukas, a senior.

"They really did everything from posters, they had informational stickers, they got their message across in many different ways," according to Terri Gardner, a health initiative representative for the American Cancer Society.

Kouzoukas and friends Mandy Vogg, a senior, and Colleen Althoff, a junior, heard about a club called Colleges Against Cancer at Relay for Life leadership program, and decided to start their own group.

Kouzoukas had a personal interest as her grandmother died of lung cancer three years ago.

CATS Against Cancer is one of two of its kind at the high school level in the country, according to Cam Traut, a certified school nurse at LHS and adviser to the club.

The group pursues events, activities and informational programs on a variety of related subjects, such as skin cancer.

About 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette each year, and another 1,500 become regular smokers, according to the American Cancer Society.

Other data from the organization shows that nearly 25 percent of middle school students and 15 percent of high school students said they had smoked their first full cigarette by the age of 11. If adolescents don't start smoking by age 18, odds are they never will.

Activities at LHS during the week of Nov. 16 raised about $400 for the American Cancer Society. Dyed hair extensions were the hit of the week with the turkey bowling showing a moderate response.

Better advertising next year could boost the participation, Traut said.

"It's always hard to tell what kind of effect you're having but a little is still good," she said.

"We had one student say, 'Can I bring this home for my dad?' You never know who you're going to affect."

Eighteen-year-old Eric Lyerly bowls a frozen turkey into "cigarette" pins in the Libertyville High School cafeteria as part of a week of anti-smoking activities hosted by CATS Against Cancer. Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer
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