by Tamara Repyova

26 November 2009

On International Non-Smoking Day on 26 November, the volunteers at the Ignatpilsky Youth Centre prepared an anti-smoking protest and staged it in the school's backyard. They composed a letter of appeal to their contemporaries, which was read out to the pupils by the Youth Development Expert.

Hi there!
Every year, increasing numbers of aware, progressive youth, who are responsible for themselves and their live, are drawn to a healthy lifestyle, putting efforts into health preservation and improvement. They do this because the health is a magic key that opens up the doors of opportunity, allowing you to desire and to achieve something, to dream and to materialise those dreams, to attain your worth and to develop yourself, to gain new milestones for future development...
Sure, now you want to enjoy life, to keep up with the times, to keep pace with fashion.
FASHION...
Fashion is much more than music, hairdos and up-to-date “gear”.
Fashion means a style, a way of living!
You are a person of the new millennium.
A new era brings new fashion.
The sickly green creatures puffing out their cigarette smoke and their morning-after breath are outdated trendsetters for the youth of the new era, new millennium.
There is only one cool fashion – HEALTH!
Being healthy is fashionable, cool, funky, beautiful!v The contemporary trendsetting style is a healthy person who chooses a healthy lifestyle.
You're – young?
You're – cool?
You're – the winner?
Then we are many!
Be persistent and believe in your success!
Good luck on your quest for your own health!

After this presentation, these who wanted to give up smoking wrote their own sentences and expressions on a gigantic symbolic cigarette, which then was burnt in the school's backyard.