EAST LOS ANGELES : A Head Start on Dangers of Smoking

At Head Start schools where his audiences include 4-year-olds, David Aguilar uses puppets to illustrate the hazards of smoking and discourage youngsters from lighting their first cigarette.

“It’s something they will identify with,” he said. “They will identify that tobacco smoke is harmful because the smoker (puppet) can’t exercise with his friends and he’s always coughing.”

With a $100,000 grant from funds voters approved with Proposition 99 in 1988, the Northeast Community Clinic hired Aguilar to oversee the program and take it to schools, businesses and community groups. Aguilar, who has worked in tobacco-education programs for county employees and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, has scheduled 25 visits to Azteca Head Start schools this month.

“We can provide individual counseling, self-help materials, do workshops for anyone who might be interested: schools, businesses, community organizations or community residents. And it’s a free service,” Aguilar said.

The county-administered funding was approved in September, adding 40 programs to the existing 30 or so that target smoking. Proposition 99 increased taxes on cigarettes from 10 to 35 cents a pack and the funds were distributed statewide.

Information: (213) 256-5055.