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Project Ideas
The tobacco issue can fit into all sorts of subject areas. Here are a few ideas for projects, assignments and papers:

Health and Physical Education:

Science and Technology:

  • What exactly do cigarettes contain? What chemicals are added by tobacco manufacturers? (See Tobacco ABCs)
  • What exactly is in tobacco smoke? Why is it harmful to people? (See Tobacco ABCs, Smoking and You)
  • Is second-hand smoke harmful? Why? (See Second-hand smoke)
  • Is second-hand smoke harmful in an outdoor setting?  Research the topic and interview some of your friends and family. (See Second-hand Smoke)

Social Studies:

  • Develop an action plan for a family to go smoke-free. (See Second-hand Smoke)
  • Conduct an opinion survey about banning smoking in public places. Who supports it? Who doesn’t? Where should smoking be banned? Should smoking be banned in homes where small children live? (See Second-hand Smoke)
  • Do a study of the main sources where youth obtain tobacco in your community. Compare your results with national stats. (See Access to Tobacco)
  • Conduct an informal survey of friends and family to find out how many parents are complying with Ontario’s ban on smoking in vehicles with kids. (See Second-hand Smoke)

Media Studies:

  • What are some of the tactics that Big Tobacco uses to sell tobacco? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics )
  • Who does Big Tobacco target with their product and how do they push their message? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Do a survey about smoking in movies: Ask your friends if they have noticed actors smoking in movies. Did it make a difference to the plot? Do they think they are influenced by smoking in movies? (See Smoking in Movies)
  • Write a news article on how the tobacco industry is using flavoured cigars and cigarillos to entice kids to use tobacco products. (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)

Business Studies:

  • How is tobacco grown by the tobacco industry? Is the industry environmentally responsible in their production techniques? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Who are some of the major tobacco companies in Canada? Are they different from American companies? What are their annual profits? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • What does globalization mean? How does the tobacco industry market their product in the third world? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Interview the owner of a retail store about tobacco sales to minors. Talk to teen store clerks about their experience selling tobacco. Have they been approached by other teens? If so, what have they done? (See Access to Tobacco)
  • Investigate if Ontario’s retail display ban has affected the income of small corner stores and other retailers in your community. (See Access to Tobacco)
  • What are some of the health impacts of a retail display ban?  Is it possible to estimate how many lives may have been saved?

English and Literature:

  • Design and create a poster that exposes Big Tobacco. (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Review a film that deals with the tobacco issue such as “Thank you for smoking”. (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Make your own YouTube video about tobacco. (See all sections)
  • Write a short story about how a group of students beat the odds by fighting for and winning a ban on smoking in their community’s parks, playgrounds and beaches. (See Second-hand Smoke)

Psychology:

  • Although it is not in their best interest, many tobacco companies have developed so called “smoking prevention” programs for youth. Are these programs effective? Why or why not? (See Tobacco Industry Tactics)
  • Why do young people start to smoke? Have there been studies that compare differences between girls and boys, or of teens from different cultures or generations? (See Youth Smoking in Canada)
  • Conduct a survey of your fellow students to determine some of the main factors that contributed to their decision to smoke or not to smoke. (See Teen Tobacco Use: In Context)
  • What can you find out about the connection between tobacco use and experimentation with other substances such as alcohol and illicit drugs in teens? (See Teen Tobacco Use: In Context)

Math and Statistics:

  • Compare youth smoking rates in Canada since 1999. How as the number changed? Why do you think the number has changed? (See Youth Smoking in Canada)
  • Conduct your own smoking survey in your school or among your friends. Compare your results with national and provincial figures. (See Youth Smoking in Canada and Smoking and You)

History and Geography:

  • What is the history of tobacco? How was it first used in North America and how did it come to be used in cigarettes? (See Tobacco ABCs)
  • Examine trends in smoking at different times in history. What has changed? Why do you think youth smoking behaviour has changed from when your parents were young? (See Youth Smoking in Canada)

Native Studies:

  • How does sacred use of tobacco differ from smoking cigarettes? (See Tobacco ABCs)

Legal Studies:

  • Find out about the law in your province about tobacco use and possession and compare it to laws in other provinces across Canada and in the United States. (Access to Tobacco)
  • Write a brochure or make a post on your school website that provides details about the tobacco laws in your province. (See Access to Tobacco)