Speaking to students, faculty, coaches, administrators, and parents at both primary and secondary schools about the enormous risks for young people who use smokeless tobacco.

Cigarette smoking deservedly receives the largest share of anti-tobacco health warnings for adults, adolescents and children. An estimated 50 million Americans smoke. However there is another tobacco product which is estimated to be used by up to 6 million Americans - smokeless tobacco. The fastest growing segment of users is 12-19 year olds and they are at huge risk of developing major health problems!

An Open Letter to Our Schools and Communities:


Many schools each year call on expert speakers to come in and address important issues for students including substance abuse. Drugs, alcohol and cigarettes typically head the list of important topics. However, smokeless tobacco is often overlooked, yet is a growing threat for our nation’s youngsters due to the perception it’s less harmful, and it’s easier to hide its use than cigarettes. In some areas, 15% or more of teens are occasional to regular smokeless tobacco users and there are over 3 million users under the age of 21 in the U.S. Teens represent the fastest growing segment of users. Long-term users are at significant risk of oral cancer and other diseases, and smokeless tobacco is highly addictive delivering several times the nicotine load of cigarettes.

Since 1994, I have conducted over 2,000 my anti-tobacco presentations for 5th to 12th Graders, reaching out to over 175,000 students, faculty, coaches, administrators, and parents at over 350 primary and secondary schools. This work represents over 800 days spent in these schools.

These presentations have been designed to educate our young audiences to think seriously about the risks and dangers of using all tobacco products. My talk uses smokeless tobacco as the core subject to demonstrate its inherently detrimental chemicals and carcinogens. In addition, I also educate kids about the misleading tobacco manufacturers' marketing strategies and messages.

These presentations are designed to fit your school's class schedules and depending on your school's needs, I can offer several talks during a school day. I have included a separate page of endorsements from veteran health educators who have seen my presentation several times. All of them, and many others, would be happy to personally validate this talk's merits. In addition, I have also included some excerpts from articles I have written and published on the subject.

I hope you will contact me soon to discuss a potential visit to your school this year. Thank you for your continued commitment to our students' good health.

Very truly yours, Bob Bigelow

To contact me, please call at 781-729-6134, or send an email to bob-bigelow@comcast.net.

Bob's crusade for improving youth sports: Community talks for youth sports coaches, administrators and parents on how to improve the youth sports experience for children. For more information, please visit Bob's youth sports website at www.bobbigelow.com.