The Battle Against Tobacco

Source from:  Bryan Marshall Register News Writer January 28, 2008 01/29/2008

Berea doctor teaches students Tar Wars program There is not any jedi knights or droids, but through a program called Tar Wars a Berea physician is teaching local elementary students about tobacco prevention. Dr. Derwood Basham of St. Joseph Berea Family Medicine has presented the program to fourth- and fifth-graders at Berea Community School, Shannon Johnson Elementary, Silver Creek Elementary and St. Mark Catholic School, and the 43-year-old is looking for other Madison County elementary schools to participate. Endorsed as a national program by The American Academy of Family Physicians, Tar Wars has been implemented in all 50 states and has reached more than 7 million children worldwide since its development in Colorado in 1988. The program is intended to increase students' knowledge of the short-term effects and image-based consequences of tobacco use. "Tobacco and indeed all substances of abuse have had a devastating effect on our people in these hills," said Basham, a 1986 Berea College graduate who, after many years in construction in Madison and Fayette counties, decided to pursue a medical career. "I have been personally affected, watching my father suffer the final years of his life from the health effects of tobacco, alcohol and pain pill addiction. And, I have seen patient after patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, heart disease, cirrhosis, overdose and associated problems, all of which are mostly preventable. "We don't often think about the long-term consequences of our lifestyle and health choices, it seems," he said. "So I decided to get involved. I chose to talk to young people because the children are our future." Basham's Power Point presentation to students illustrates the costs of using tobacco and identifies reasons why people use tobacco. "Once they try tobacco even once they may become slaves to it for the rest of their lives," the longtime Berea resident said. "And, tobacco is expensive. I always emphasize that $4 a day is a reasonable estimate for tobacco cost and over 50 years that adds up to $72,000. What else could be bought for $72,000?" The program also features a nationwide poster contest sponsored by the Associations of Family Practice in each state. Submissions to the state associations are sent to the national level and each state has their own particular recognition/prizes. Nationally, a recognition ceremony for the various finalists and winners is conducted once a year. With a May deadline, Basham said he has about 30 posters turned in so far. Basham credits his strong sense of community service for his reason for reaching out to students with the educational program. "It is one of the pillars on which education at Berea College is built," he said. "While a resident, I volunteered two nights a month at the Bradley Free Clinic in Roanoke, Va. Here, I wanted to find something that might make a difference in the health of the local community, and I found Tar Wars when I Googled 'teen smoking.' It seemed like a well-thought-out program, and taught me some stuff." Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691. Enditem