By Nick Danna
editor@PhoenixvilleNews.com

PHOENIXVILLE — Everybody, even smokers, knows that the habit is bad for you, yet approximately 4,000 kids between the ages of 12 and 17 begin smoking each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A group of students within the Phoenixville Area School District are doing what they can to fight against that grim statistic. On Thursday, as part of the nation-wide Great American Smokeout, members of the high school's Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) manned information tables and conducted fun activities aimed at helping younger students understand the dangers of smoking and prevent them from starting.

Under the supervision of Rosemary Newcomb, RN, and Billie Goldstein, RN, who work for both Phoenixville Hospital and as nurses for the PASD, the 35 teens who make up TATU spoke with students at Phoenixville Area Middle School and with local residents at the Phoenixville ACME, handing out "quit kits" from the hospital and imparting useful information through a Jeopardy-style game.

"This is a peer-to-peer education group, which is really the best way to educate teens

on the dangers of smoking," Newcomb said. "They tend to listen more to other teens than to adults."

The teens who make up TATU agree, saying that they've already seen positive results from their work.

"We serve as role models," said TATU member and PAHS student Josh Sommers. "It's a way for us to get through to kids."

"Younger kids look up to older kids, and they learn more from them," said Matt Fagan. "We're just trying to help them."

TATU members conducted activities through all lunches at the middle school Thursday.

The program, and Newcomb's role at the school, are part of the hospital's community health initiatives that "let us branch out and get to more of the community," according to Newcomb.

"Our goal is to help the community be healthier," said Phoenixville Hospital's Brian Torrance. "One advantage to that is we can reach kids at an earlier age and create that awareness. The benefit to these types of programs is that they are peer-to-peer, so they're hearing the information they need to hear directly from their classmates. It's also an opportunity for older kids to help give back to the younger kids and educate them."