LA HABRA : Fashion Show Wafts No-Smoking Theme

Students at La Habra High School, working with the American Cancer Society/Orange County Unit, staged a fashion show Thursday to ask their peers to “Make a Fashion Statement, Don’t Smoke,” as part of the Great American Smokeout.

About 20 students paraded on stage in casual dress and evening wear, some obviously timid about the cheers by their classmates. During presentation of each of the five collections, facts about the effects of tobacco use were weaved in with descriptions of the apparel. Each scene ended with a skit designed to deter the audience from smoking.

In one skit, students in aerobic gear showed how to keep fit by living smoke-free. The student models ceremoniously kicked and danced on packs of cigarettes to show their peers that smoking is unfashionable.

The assembly ended with each member of the cast making a New Year’s resolution to get someone close to them to kick the nicotine habit. After the fashion show, a schoolwide “smoke-out” pep rally was held. Banners were posted with slogans including “Tobacco Rots Your Teeth” and “Smoking Stinks.”

The fashion show was the brainchild of Keri Gee Barnett, a volunteer for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

“The only group where smoking is on the increase is girls ages 16 to 19,” Barnett said. “It’s partly peer pressure, but it’s also the advertising that shows glamorous models smoking, making cigarettes look like a fashion accessory.”

Barnett enlisted the assistance of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to coordinate the fashion show, and Clothestime and Inner City to donate the outfits.

To test the fashion show campaign, high schools throughout the county were given the opportunity to apply, but only two high schools in the county were chosen to participate in the pilot program. In addition to La Habra High School, Sonora High School, also in La Habra, was chosen and had its fashion show on Tuesday.

Barnett, who also handles public relations for the Regional Occupational Program, a work-study program for high school students that co-sponsored the event, said that supporting smoke-free youngsters is also supporting a healthier future work force.