A call to arms against tobacco

To The Eagle:

Students from a local high school have organized a SWAT team, Students Working Against Tobacco. Their goal is to discourage smoking amongst their peers. Were programs such as this replicated in high schools across the nation, the impact on our youth's health would be enormous.

The SWAT team's approach is through use of films, medical literature and statistics showing the harm from the habit of smoking. By getting the message to those most vulnerable, it can be effective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, every day 3,800 teens will try smoking for the first time. A thousand will develop a daily habit and 300 will die from related causes, in large number from cancer.

What say you, young people? What to give the program a try?

Audrey Brady

Naples, Fla.