Dylan Jones’ anti-smoking poster
has been entered in a national contest
By:Krzysztof Scibiorski
"I like sports a lot, I play baseball and basketball, and when you smoke it’s hard to do that," Dylan explained. "That’s why my poster is entitled "Play Hard, Breathe Easy.’ "
Dylan’s poster was entered in the national Tar Wars Contest and in May he will find out if his effort will be included in the calendar published by the organization. The contest is combined with a two-period presentation about the dangers of smoking, according to Roosevelt School nurse Kim Breidt.
The classes, held for free by Somerset Family Practice staff, show the kids how smoking impacts their health through exercises such as trying to run around while breathing through a straw, to simulate decreased lung capacity.
"The contest is about emphasizing the positive aspects of being smoke free, like playing sports," said Ms. Breidt, who supervised the program. "We had more than 25 entries in this year’s contest."
Second place at the school was gained by fifth-grader Kelly Duffy and her "When smoke fills the air, you better beware, If you care about your health" creation.
Dylan is very glad that his work is being recognized.
"I like it a lot. Every day my mom asks me if anything exciting happened at school and I usually say ‘no,’ but this is very exciting," Dylan said. "I like art class and drawing even better then gym, so it’s really nice."