Healthy
Unhealthy
Health
Cost
The Law
SMOKING
Chemicals
Types of
tobacco
Global Issues
Session Plan KS2: To understand the negative effects of tobacco Time: 1hour
Learning Objectives:
 To understand that smoking has harmful effects on health
 To be aware of the different ways in which tobacco can be taken
 To know that shisha is a form of smoking and that it is harmful
By the end of the session:
 Most children will be able to explain why smoking tobacco is bad for our health
 All children will know that shisha pipes are a form of tobacco use and it’s negative effects
 Some children will be able to describe other negative effects of tobacco use (than health)
Differentiation:
 By support
 By discussion
 By observation
Assessment:
 By outcome
 By observation
 By questioning
Resources: Healthy /unhealthy body template, mind map template, shisha factsheet
Session:
Time
Activity
Additional Information
0-10
In twos discuss the word “healthy” what do the children think it means,
Alternatively just project image onto board
minutes
what would a healthy person look like? Using body outline draw a line
and take oral feedback from whole class.
down the middle then draw/write on one side “what keeps us healthy?”
Or
and the other “what makes us unhealthy?”
Using lining paper draw round a pupil for
Take feedback, and explain we are going to focus on smoking and
the outline and label
tobacco use for the session
10-20
In small groups:
Differentiate : using prompts on the mind
minutes
Using the mind map template establish prior knowledge.
map e.g. effects on health, cost, etc.
Feedback will take the form of 6 areas; effects on health(including:
20-35 mins
second hand tobacco smoke,) chemicals, cost, global issues , the law,
types of tobacco
As a whole class:
 Take feedback from each group of one thing that helps keep us
healthy around each of the 6 areas identified above.
See the posters below for discussion prompts.
Effects on health:
 all parts of the body are affected by smoking. Teeth and mouth,
lungs, stomach, bowel, bones, brain, eyesight, circulation etc.
(see attached sheet)
 smoking increases the risk of getting any cancer
 Particular effects on respiratory system, smoking deposits tar in
your lungs (including shisha), smoking can impact on your
breathing
 Deposits tar on your lungs making breathing difficult. Google: jar
of tar for image)
 Smoking has an aging effect on the skin smokers often look older
than their years and someone of the same age who doesn’t
smoke.
Chemicals in a cigarette:
 Tobacco contains the chemical nicotine which is one of the most
addictive substances in the world. It is very hard to give up once
you are addicted
 There are over 4000 chemicals in a cigarette and in cigarette
smoke, these include rat poison, battery acid, candle wax,
embalming fluid, arsenic etc.
Cost:
 The cost of tobacco is high, a packet of 20 cigarettes is about £7+
what could you spend that money on? A holiday?
 Cheaper cigarettes and tobacco products are often illegal imports
smuggle from across the world and as such no tax has been paid
on them, and there is no quality control on their production so you
Key points: are outlined left.(decide
which you think are appropriate for your
pupils but ensure you include shisha in
the discussion as all of the points below
also apply to it):
do not know what they contain.
 Supplying illegal tobacco carries an unlimited fine and up to 10
years in prison
Global Issues:
 Tobacco companies actively encourage children in third world
countries to start smoking to replace the market of those who
have given up smoking.
 Children are actively involved in harvesting tobacco for very low
wages ($0.25/day). Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia,
Malawi and Zimbabwe.
 In Malawi, many of the child tobacco workers suffer from green
tobacco disease (nicotine poisoning.)
 In Bulgaria children are taken out of school to help harvest the
tobacco crop
The Law:
 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to people under 18 years of
age
 Shopkeepers should ask for proof of age and display signs which
state they cannot sell to under 18s
 It is not illegal to smoke under 18 years of age
 Cigarettes cannot be sold in less than packs of 10, packets
should not be spilt and cigarettes sold individually
 It is illegal to smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces
whatever your age
 It is illegal to supply tobacco on which no tax has been paid (see
illegal tobacco above)
Types of tobacco:
 Smoking: cigarettes, cigars, pipe, roll ups, beedis and Shisa
(hookah ) pipes
Cigarettes: most familiar method, light inhale smoke through filter.
“Mild” brands are no better for you than others.
See additional fact sheet for how the
shisha pipe works
Cigars: tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco. Lit but
smoke not inhaled
Pipe: tobacco placed in bowl of pipe and lit, smoke drawn up the stem
of the pipe. Again smoke not inhaled. Cigar and pipe smokers are at
increased risk of cancers of the lips and tongue
Roll-ups: loose tobacco is placed in a cigarette paper, lit and smoked.
More likely not to include a filter so increases toixin inhalation. Tobacco
is often mixed with other substances to create a spliff
Beedies (Bidis): thin Indian cigarettes filled with tobacco flakes and
wrapped, often mixed with fruit flavourings. Brightly packaged like
sweets to appeal to young people. Readily available in Indian food
markets
Shisha (Hookah) pipe: a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through
cooled water. The tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of the hookah
and smoke is filtered through the water in the base. This smoke is then
inhaled and the hookah shared with friends and family.
Many children and young people have or routinely smoke shisha as
there is a commonly held belief that smoking shisha is a safe way to
smoke tobacco. This is simply not true. Smoking a shisha pipe for half
an hour has the same effect as smoking 100 cigarettes (see fact sheet
for more information)
Shisha smoking is becoming increasingly popular with young people
with many opulent shisha bars are opening up around Bolton. Often
these shisha cafes are breaking the law as they allow smoking in
enclosed spaces.
Talk through the myths re shisha included on the factsheet.

Smokeless: chewing tobacco (leaves and plugs which are
placed on the inside of the cheek and chewed over a period of
time), Snus (moist powder placed under lip), & Snuff fine tobacco
powder inhaled through the nasal passage.
E cigarettes:
Electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes –
are electrical devices that mimic real
cigarettes but using an electronic cigarette
or ‘vaping’ as its come to be known,
produces a vapour that’s potentially less
harmful than tobacco smoke. Many ecigarettes contain nicotine and, when they
do, it’s the vapour that gives the nicotine
hit.
E-cigarettes are not the same as the
inhalator, which is a type of nicotine
replacement therapy that IS available on
the NHS.
Since their emergence around five years
ago, e-cigarettes have become
increasingly popular. They’re typically
marketed as a healthier (and cheaper)
alternative to traditional cigarettes. And,
because they don’t smell or produce
smoke, they may be used in places where
smoking is banned, like bars, restaurants,
public transport, planes and even
hospitals
While e-cigarettes may be safer than
conventional cigarettes, we don’t yet know
the long-term effects of vaping on the
body. There are other potential drawbacks
to using them:

Smokeless tobacco may be known by a variety of names and types
depending on the culture from which it originates: Paan Masala
(Gutkha), Nass, Zarda, Supari, Khaini, Mawa, Mishri, Qiwain, Snuff,
Chaw, Iq’mik, Ariva, Shammah, Toombak, Chimo
There are high levels of chewing tobacco use in ethnic minority
populations in the UK. There is little awareness of the dangers of these
products, there is little or no information on the packaging and they are
often marketed like sweets.
They are highly addictive products, and the risks associated with their
use mirror those of smoking tobacco as well as an increased risk of
mouth and other alimentary tract cancers.
There is evidence of increasing use of these products by young people
in the USA



Electronic cigarettes aren’t
regulated as medicines so you
can’t be sure of their ingredients or
how much nicotine they contain –
whatever it says on the label
The amount of nicotine you get
from an e-cigarette can change
over time
They aren’t proven as safe. In fact,
some e-cigarettes have been
tested by local authority trading
standards departments and been
found to contain toxic chemicals,
including some of the same cancercausing agents produced from
tobacco
So far, there’s no proof that they
can help people to stop smoking
E-shisha (shisha pens, hookah pens):
35-50
minutes
50-60 mins
Shisha poster:
In pairs: design a poster warning children and young people about the
dangers of shisha smoking.
Or
Using the local campaign materials (see Appendix) how would you
adapt the leaflet/poster to warn young people about the dangers of
shisha smoking
Plenary:
Usually: peer pressure, to try it, as a
Review learning, how they now know that all forms of smoking are bad
for your health
Consider why people might start to smoke or use tobacco when they
have all of this information.
How might you resist peer pressure? Most smokers started before they
were 15 years old?
Introduce the site www.packetoffacts.co.uk and ask the children to visit
the site
Some additional activities:
 Using www.packetoffacts.co.uk create a tobacco display using
the posters, completed cigarette packets (filled with “facts
cigarettes”), design and create shisha tobacco packs with health
information on the pack etc.
 Give the children the task of spending the money they would
save if they didn’t smoke (10, 20 30 ,40, 50 cigarettes a day)
over a set timescale e.g. 20 cigarettes a day @ £7 a packet =
£2,548 a year. What could/would you spend that money on?
 Find out where tobacco is grown in the world, show on a map,
find out 5 facts about each country, draw their flags, show the
possible routes to the UK for that tobacco.
 Tobacco companies have recognised the need to replace their
dwindling markets and actively target young people in third world
countries as their new generation of smokers. Using the images
below as a stimulus write a letter to the tobacco companies to try
to persuade them to stop this campaign.
 Organise a debate on plain packaging or a person’s right to
smoke
dare, to look older/cooler are the main
answers.
Sometimes (from girls) “to help keep you
slim” – does this outweigh the negative
health effects?
Sometimes:” because it helps relieve
stress” – it doesn’t, it increases heart rate
and blood pressure
This may be something that could be set
as homework, and ask children to find a
“tobacco fact” which could be used as part
of a display
Cross curricular with Design technology,
science, PSHE, literacy, maths,
geography, citizenship
Some of the chemicals in a cigarette/cigarette smoke:
Children smoking:
Appendix: