VIDEO GAME TO TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT TOBACCO

MOST SMOKERS BEGIN SMOKING IN THEIR TEENAGE YEARS. ALTHOUGH SMOKING RATES AMONG TEENAGERS HAVE DROPPED IN RECENT YEARS, 16-20% OF ALL TEENAGERS STILL SMOKE. FURTHERMORE, SMOKELESS TOBACCO USE AMONG TEENAGERS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (USPHS,1989). THE WIDESPREQAD AVAILABILITY OF HOME-BASED VIDEO GAME COMPUTERS CREATES A POTENTIAL CHANNEL FOR TOBACCO PREVENTION EDUCATION LIKELY TO REACH A LARGE NUMBER OF THE PRE-SMOKING, ADOLESCENT POPULATION. AN ESTIMATED 40 MILLION US HOUSEHOLDS HAVE A NINTENDO SYSTEM AND VIRTUALLY EVERY YOUNG PERSON HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY NINTENDO GAMES. VIDEO GAMES REPRESENT A POWERFUL MEDIUM THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED TO TEACH PROSOCIAL ACTIVITIES TO ADOLESCENTS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A PROTOTYPE NINENDO GAME DESIGNED TO TEACH 10 TO 14 YEAR OLD BOYS AND GIRLS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF NOT SMOKING AND CREATING NEGATIVE ATTITUDES ABOUT SMOKING BY SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING ON THE BODY. THE PROTOTYPE GAME WILL BE TESTED WITH A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO WILL EVALUATE THE GAME. THEY WILL COMPLETE PRE- AND POST- TESTS OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE. IF THE GAME PROVES TO BE BOTH ENTERTAINING AND EFFECTIVE I INCREASING KNOWLEDGE AND ANTI-SMOKING ATTITUDES IN THE PILOT SAMPLE, THEN IN PHASE II A COMMERCIALLY VIABLE VIDEO GAME COULD BE PUBLISHED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES.