Overview
About the Author:
Sean Price is a former managing editor of Junior Scholastic magazine in New York
Synopsis
About the Author:
Sean Price is a former managing editor of Junior Scholastic magazine in New York
Children's Literature
I started reading this book by reading the introduction: big mistake, because it is boring. Once I began the real part of the book, I found it to be a wealth of information, presented in a way that is very readable. Included in the book are the usual stats on nicotine and cigarette smoking such as deaths and the ages people start using. Tobacco use has a long and varied history. It was used as a cure for the plague, a calming treatment for soldiers at war, and a social prop in movies. I had never heard about bidis, which are flavored cigarettes, made in India and even sold in health stores, but they are just as dangerous as or more dangerous than ordinary cigarettes. Another thing I learned was that some people can become addicted with one smoke. A short list of some of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and where the chemical is normally found was also included in the book. Great pictures and illustrations are found throughout. This book would be essential in health/science classrooms as well as libraries. It is too bad that everyone is not required to read this book before lighting up or chewing for the first time. Reviewer: RevaBeth Russell