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Excerpts from Web sites deflate smoking's cool image

By Tammi Wark, USA TODAY [04/05/99]

First the incision. Then the skin is stretched and pulled back to expose the chest cavity. The vibrant reds of blood vessels and muscles intermingle with a grossly diseased lung. This is one of a handful of surgeons' real-life visuals that can be seen on the latest anti-smoking Web site.

The site's message to teen smokers: If you think you look cool smoking, you should see what we see. The bearer of the news is a group of more than 4,000 doctors who should know: They are the ones who hold blackened and tumor-ridden lungs in their hands.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) launched www.smokesignals.org Thursday to show the public what happens to the lungs of smokers. It features photographs and video of lung surgeries and a "smoke signals" area, where visitors to the site can print or e-mail postcards with emotive stop-smoking poetry.

The audience the surgeons want to reach is preteens and teen-agers. Their hope is that graphic photos and discussion will keep young people from starting the smoking habit in the first place.

How do teens respond to anti-smoking messages on the Internet?

Mike Baab, 17, of Seattle, a member of USA TODAY's Teen Panel, browsed the anti-smoking Web sites and wasn't impressed. "These long-term effects mean nothing to teen-agers, who think they are invincible," he says.

The scare tactics aren't proven to work, but they do catch kids' attention. Samantha Mc Quaig, 12, of Great Falls, Va., took one look at the photos of the devastated lungs and said, "I never considered smoking, and now I never will, ever!"

The issues of peer pressure, addiction and just looking cool sometimes far outweigh any adult-based promotion to stop teens from doing things that are detrimental to their health. "I think smoking is the grossest of all habits," says Teen Panel member Ari Goldberg, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla. "But at a party, I can suck on secondhand smoke or have my own."

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