WDA Dentist Will Visit Elcho Elementary, Congratulate Student Featured in Anti-Spit Tobacco Comic Book [1]

honors [2]

WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin – Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA) [3] member and general dentist Dr. Charles Wetzel will visit Elcho Elementary, N11268 Antigo St., this Thursday, May 24, 2007, at 1 p.m. to talk with Adam Kuehl and his classmates about the oral health dangers of using smokeless tobacco as part of this year’s Stamp Out Spit Tobacco Education Program. Kuehl, grand-prize winner in last year’s Stamp Out Spit Tobacco postage stamp design contest, is featured in the 2007 educational comic book along with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart and infielder Rickie Weeks as the B-Force.

Students from the fifth and sixth grades will gather together for the oral health awareness program. Wetzel will use a Mr. Grossmouth model to help students and teachers visualize the damage smokeless tobacco can do to a person’s teeth, gums and tongue.

In its seventh year, the award-winning anti-spit tobacco program is a cooperative effort of the WDA, Brewers, Group One Marketing and Wisconsin Departments of Public Instruction and Health and Family Services. Funded by $96,000 in state tobacco education funds and more than $200,000 in real and in-kind contributions from the private partners, the oral health message is promoted to 72,000 fifth graders statewide.

Classroom packets were mailed to 3,513 public and private school fifth grade teachers in early May. Each packet contained a curriculum guide, pre and post-tests for formally measuring children’s understanding and acceptance of the anti-spit tobacco message, a classroom DVD and one curriculum-based comic book for every student. In addition, 10,000 of this year’s B-Force comic books were given away to youngsters 16 and younger at Miller Park on May 20 prior to a Brewers home baseball game.

In the 2007 comic book story, Hart and Weeks travel from Milwaukee’s Miller Park to Langlade County, where they help Kuehl and other Elcho youngsters resist the aggressive spit tobacco sales tactics of bad guys Grossmouth, evil scientist Drool and their stinky crew of spit demons. From there, the heroes track Grossmouth to Lake Geneva for one more battle before returning to home base.

The Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports a 42 percent reduction in the number of young people using spit tobacco, from a high of 12.7 percent in 1999 to 7.4 percent in 2006. Prevention messages, like those contained in Stamp Out Spit Tobacco materials, are credited with this positive behavior change.

Established in 1870, the WDA is headquartered in West Allis. With more than 2,900 members, the WDA represents the vast majority of practicing dentists in Wisconsin. Members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is one of 53 state-territorial dental societies of the American Dental Association (ADA) [4] - the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. For more information, call 414-276-4520 or visit www.wda.org [5].

SOURCE: Wisconsin Dental Association