oh HAI LJ!!
ok, so i know i haven't posted in a forever.but i just HAD to talk about the conference i went to this past weekend.
i was in houston for the texas teen tobacco summit, a large conference for adults and kids about tobacco.
people i met:
-dr. victor denoble. he conducted secret research on the tobacco industries dime about nicotine's addictive properties. he testified against them in the '90s and was instrumental in getting the master tobacco settlement passed. he also showed us A HUMAN BRAIN!!!! i learned a lot of great stuff about addiciton from him that you're all probably not interested in, but if you ARE interested in how our brains become addicted and why 90% of addicts are created before the age of 24, let me know. i really want to geek out about it. google this guy. he rocks.
-gruen vonbahrens. he lost half his tongue, his jaw, and all of his teeth to the effects of oral cancer caused by using dip. he was 17 when he developed cancer and lost his tongue. he said he could literally pull his tongue apart and see the tumor inside of it. he's had 34 surgeries (which equates to 2.5 to 3 million in medical bills according to his estimate). he's married and has 2 daughters, and is very happy. his story was so inspirational because oral cancer is one of the most deadly cancers. google him too.
-rick stoddard. this guy made me cry. his wife died of lung cancer (like miss marion) and he put in her obituary that all her smoking caused her death. now he travels and talk about his wife, their struggle, and his life now. he did a really great presentation about tobacco advertising that i found very enlightening. like how tobacco companies make their ads in the same colors as popular candies so the brain equates the two. and on and on.
-shaun derick. he didn't talk about tobacco. he was mostly there for the youth to talk about their goals and dreams. he's a producer for "broadway after dark" and he presented at vassar once while i was still there. i'm gonna try and get him to partner with my agency to raise money.
overall, it was great. very informative. i learned a lot about tobacco laws in texas (which is good), and about drug addiction and such. good times.
and now ends my prevention educator geeking out entry.
i was in houston for the texas teen tobacco summit, a large conference for adults and kids about tobacco.
people i met:
-dr. victor denoble. he conducted secret research on the tobacco industries dime about nicotine's addictive properties. he testified against them in the '90s and was instrumental in getting the master tobacco settlement passed. he also showed us A HUMAN BRAIN!!!! i learned a lot of great stuff about addiciton from him that you're all probably not interested in, but if you ARE interested in how our brains become addicted and why 90% of addicts are created before the age of 24, let me know. i really want to geek out about it. google this guy. he rocks.
-gruen vonbahrens. he lost half his tongue, his jaw, and all of his teeth to the effects of oral cancer caused by using dip. he was 17 when he developed cancer and lost his tongue. he said he could literally pull his tongue apart and see the tumor inside of it. he's had 34 surgeries (which equates to 2.5 to 3 million in medical bills according to his estimate). he's married and has 2 daughters, and is very happy. his story was so inspirational because oral cancer is one of the most deadly cancers. google him too.
-rick stoddard. this guy made me cry. his wife died of lung cancer (like miss marion) and he put in her obituary that all her smoking caused her death. now he travels and talk about his wife, their struggle, and his life now. he did a really great presentation about tobacco advertising that i found very enlightening. like how tobacco companies make their ads in the same colors as popular candies so the brain equates the two. and on and on.
-shaun derick. he didn't talk about tobacco. he was mostly there for the youth to talk about their goals and dreams. he's a producer for "broadway after dark" and he presented at vassar once while i was still there. i'm gonna try and get him to partner with my agency to raise money.
overall, it was great. very informative. i learned a lot about tobacco laws in texas (which is good), and about drug addiction and such. good times.
and now ends my prevention educator geeking out entry.