Lesson 11.1: Tobacco Products and the Rise of E-Cigarettes

Overview

This lesson focuses on the rise in the use of tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes, as well as the health risks associated with their use and develops the skills of decision-making.

Learning Targets

  • Define tobacco and name its main ingredient.
  • Explain three short- and three long-term health effects of tobacco on the body.
  • Describe what vaping is.
  • Recognize what e-juice is.
  • Indicate what the health risks are specific to vaping.

Preparation

Chapter Opener: Use the What Do I Know About Tobacco Products? self-assessment to introduce the chapter before moving on to Lesson 11.1, or assign the worksheet as a homework task before starting this lesson.

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the journal question on the board, or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 11.1 PowerPoint slides, or make copies of the Lesson 11.1 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 11.1 Making Healthy Decisions Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on-task.

  • Self-Assessment: Have students complete the What Do I Know About Tobacco Products? self-assessment.
  • Journal Question: Can you name four types of tobacco products? Can you list the common ingredient found in all forms of tobacco?
    • Option: Write or project the question, and have students respond in their journals as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in partners, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 11.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 11.1 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quizzes, and use them alongside posttests to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

  • Option: Use the Lesson 11.1 PowerPoint slides to review the chapter content.
  • Option: Have students use the Lesson 11.1 Note-Taking Guide to review the chapter content. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Review the questions as a class if time permits.

Lesson Focus: Making Healthy Decisions

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 11.1 Making Healthy Decisions Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.
  2. Students will be using information from the lesson and their decision-making steps to come to an individual decision as to whether Kaidyn should try vaping or not.
  3. Ask students to find a partner and share their decision-making process and final decision as to what Kaidyn should do.
  4. Ask students to share their final decisions with the class to see whether anyone thought Kaidyn should try vaping and if so why.

Challenge Activity

Have students who need an additional challenge work on the following critical-thinking task.

There were substantial health risks discussed in this lesson concerning vaping and overall tobacco use. Based on the information in the lesson and teens you may know who vape, why do you think teens continue to use when they know what may happen to them?

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets, and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you…

  • Define tobacco and name its main ingredient?

    Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are dried and put into tobacco products. The main ingredient in tobacco is nicotine, which is an addictive chemical.

  • Explain three short- and three long-term health effects of tobacco products on the body?

    Short-term health effects can include decreased lung function, poor physical performance, and an increase in sports-related injuries. Long-term health effects can include lungs never performing at full capacity because they never grow to their potential size; higher rates of anxiety compared to nonsmokers; and negative effects on learning, memory, and cognition.

  • Describe what vaping is?

    Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol produced by an e-cigarette.

  • Summarize what can be in the aerosol or vape e-cigarette users inhale and exhale?

    Nicotine; ultrafine chemical particles that can be inhaled into the lungs; cancer-causing chemicals; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.

  • Recognize what e-juice is?

    The liquid used in an e-cigarette. E-juice usually has nicotine, flavoring, and other additives that heat into an aerosol that the user inhales.

  • Indicate what the health risks are specific to vaping?

    Many of the e-juices have nicotine, which is highly addictive, and the aerosol is similar to secondhand smoke because it contains cancer-causing chemicals. Vaping also has other risks, such as defective e-cigarette batteries causing fires and explosions, resulting in serious injuries. Children and adults have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-juice through their skin and eyes. The aerosol from e-cigarettes also contains metals, such as lead and tin, and ultrafine particles that can be inhaled into the lungs. It is also unclear what is in many of the e-juice flavors, so all the side effects are unknown at this time.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 11.1 Quiz.
  • Vocabulary Review: Collect the Lesson 11.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheets, and evaluate them for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 11.1 Note-Taking Guides, and spot check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 11.1 Making Healthy Decisions Skill-Building Challenge Worksheets, and use the Decision-Making Holistic Rubric to evaluate their skill development.
  • Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the journal question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.

Take It Home

Find someone in your life who smokes or vapes. Create three to five questions you want to ask them about their smoking or vaping. Once you have created your questions, interview the person to find out their answers. Make sure you write their answers down because you will share your findings in class.

Option: Assign the What Do I Know About Tobacco Products? self-assessment as a homework task if it was not used at the start of this lesson.