The purpose of this activity is to give you a first hand feeling of how smokers feel when they're trying to breath. More specifically, it give you the feeling of what someone with emphysema (smoker's lung) feels when they try to breath. This is important because it's a good reminder for why you never want to start smoking, or why you might want to quit.
Smoking is the #1 preventable cause of death in the U.S (MIT). It's the leading cause of lung cancer, emphysema, hearth disease, and throat cancer (CDC). Not only does smoking affect those who do it, but it affects those around you. 53,800 people die each year due to exposure to second hand smoke (ANR). This activity illustrates the addictive nature of tobacco by showing you how it feels to breath when your a smoker, and yet many continue to smoke.
For this activity you will need a straw. A cocktail straw is best, but you could also grab a straw from the food court if you don't have one on hand at home. Here's how you begin:
1. Breath through the straw for 30 seconds. Has breathing become harder? How much more restricted do your airways feel?
2. Take away the straw and recognize how easy it is to breath again. Did you immediately desire to gasp for a deep breath?
3. For 1 minute either run in place or do jumping jacks.
4. Immediately following that minute breath through the straw for as long as possible. How long did you last before gasping for air? Did you notice how such a little amount of exercise made breathing so difficult?
If you felt the way you did after 1 minute of exercise and breathing through a straw all the time, do you think you would be less likely to exercise? In turn, what effect would that have on health?
Feel free to answer some of these questions when you post about this learning experience!
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great activity!
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