happenings
A Terrible Tobacco Truth Told
by Two Artery Models
World No Tobacco Day is May 31, making May a great time to consider the countless reasons to avoid using tobacco in all its forms.
In reality, there are no good reasons to use tobacco. Not only does tobacco harm the environment through deforestation, water depletion, and waste production, but also it is responsible for more than 8 million deaths from tobacco-related diseases each year.
When most people think of a tobacco-related disease, lung cancer is what usually comes to mind. Of course, tobacco use is responsible for lung cancer along with multiple other types of cancer, such as oral cancers, bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Many people also realize that smoking can cause a heart attack, but they may not understand why. That’s where Health Edco’s health education resources can help! In fact, a pair of Health Edco artery models can make the connection between smoking and heart disease crystal clear.
Read on to learn how two of our engaging artery models—the Tainted Blood: Smokers’ Blood Revealed™ Display and our new Deadly Obstruction™ Artery Model—are perfect for teaching how tobacco use can lead to artery damage, heart disease, and heart attack.
Tainted Blood: Smokers’ Blood Revealed Display
With its ingenious and clever take on traditional artery models, our unique Tainted Blood: Smokers’ Blood Revealed™ Display is a great way to inspire potential smokers and smokers alike to run away and get away from smoking. In the guise of a cigarette on the outside, the display’s model (3" x 10" x 2½") is actually a see-through representation of a smoker’s artery, allowing viewers to get a firsthand look at how the poisons in tobacco affect the blood and blood vessels.
Rather than carrying essential oxygen, the red blood cells in the model’s bloodstream are carrying the carbon dioxide introduced into the blood by smoking. As a result, the heart must work harder to provide the body with a sufficient oxygen supply. Smoking also causes inflammation of the artery walls and increases the amount of fat and cholesterol in the bloodstream, which build up as plaque (deposits of fat, cholesterol, and other substances) on artery walls. Plaque is only in the early stages of buildup in this artery model. At the same time, smoking introduces dangerous, poisonous chemicals into the bloodstream.
Thanks to the display’s two-sided, key card / tent card, each component in the bloodstream (including the red blood cells, oxygen molecules, carbon monoxide, plaque, and dangerous chemicals) is clearly labeled and explained. The back of the tent card lists 15 diseases and conditions caused by smoking, including heart disease and heart attack, and urges viewers not to smoke.
New Deadly Obstruction™ Artery Model
Whereas our Tainted Blood: Smokers’ Blood Revealed™ Display shows just the beginnings of coronary heart disease, our new Deadly Obstruction™ Artery Model takes the depiction of blood vessel damage to the next level. This 3-D model of an enlarged (1¾" x 5½" x 1") artery features a rounded back and detailed sculpting of cholesterol deposits, plaque buildup, and a blood clot blocking blood flow in an artery.
Coronary heart disease (also known as coronary artery disease) is the most common type of heart disease. Coronary heart disease develops when plaque builds up on the walls of coronary arteries, causing them to narrow or harden, a process known as atherosclerosis. The narrowed arteries decrease blood flow to the heart, which can cause chest pain (angina). If plaque ruptures, a blood clot can form around it and drastically reduce or block blood flow in a coronary artery, resulting in a heart attack.
Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, but other conditions and lifestyle factors—such as physical inactivity, uncontrolled diabetes, an unhealthy diet, overweight and obesity, and unhealthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels—can also contribute and lead to coronary heart disease. As a result, our new Deadly Obstruction™ Artery Model focuses on the end result of damage to an artery, whether from smoking or some other cause leading to a potentially fatal artery obstruction. The model’s accompanying two-sided tent card / key card labels the cholesterol, plaque buildup, and blood clot depicted in the model while explaining how a potentially deadly obstruction can occur.
Discover More Great Tobacco Education Materials and Models
Although World No Tobacco Day comes around just once a year, teaching people why they should always say no to tobacco and nicotine addiction is a year-round endeavor! Discover our diverse range of tobacco education teaching tools—covering cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, and more—for tobacco education 365 days a year. For more on heart health, check out our heart health education resources.
The information contained in this newsletter is not intended to replace the advice of a healthcare professional.
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