Vivo and Macular Society partner to warn young people of the link between smoking and blindness

The [blind] chief executive of a national charity is appealing to teachers to help get the message across to children that smoking causes sight loss. His views underpin the launch of a new resource pack launched today by The Macular Society, a leading sight loss charity;teachers explain the link between smoking and blindness.

According to the Macular Society, most of the 600 UK youngsters who start smoking every daydon’t know that tobacco could eventually cost them their sight. A survey of 10 year olds found that 98% did not know that smoking causes blindness,but feared sight loss more than any other major consequence of smoking.

The resource packs for educators are part of Is it Real?,a viral video campaign launching on 10 June to raise awareness of this issue. Liaising with teachers to effectively deliver the message of smoking causing blindness is key to the campaign. Resources could be used in subjects including art, science and PSHE.

The campaign uses a series of three intriguing and unsettling videos designed to be shared on social network sites. For the launch the Macular Society has partnered with Vivo, a schools' reward platform with 1.4 million users and a proven track record in bringing charity campaigns like this to millions of students. A questionnaire on attitudes to smoking will be included in the campaign.

Consultant ophthalmologist, Phillip Moradi, from Moorfields Eye Hospital in London conducted the survey and will analyse the new data.

He said: "We need to have better information on which health messages will work with children. At the moment 600 children in the UK start smoking every day. That represents a devastating effect on the health of these young people later in their lives. It may seem logical to concentrate health messages on the life-threatening consequences of smoking but it may be that raising awareness of the risk of blindness would be more effective.”

The Society is criticising the slow progress in implementing an EU directive to put sight loss warnings on cigarette packets which was first agreed in 2012 and says current smoking advice often ignores the link with blindness.

Macular Society Chief Executive, Tony Rucinski, said: "We are failing children if we don't tell them about the full dangers of smoking. Smokers are up to four times more likely to develop macular degeneration than people who have never smoked. Smokers with certain genetic characteristics are 20 times more likely to get it. The fact is that macular degeneration is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK. 200 people a day start to lose their sight because of it. Children are, rightly, concerned about the prospect of living with sight loss but adults seem to overlook this when planning anti-smoking campaigns. Anti-smoking messages must highlight the risk to sight.

“We recognise that teachers play a vital role in presenting effective health messages to children. I hope the exciting teaching resources combined with the videos we have created will help to inspire people within the education sector to get involved with the campaign.

The resource packs offer activities, tools and inspiration for educators to teach young children about the dangers of smoking and the increased risk of blindness in later life including:

  • A Fact-Sheet about macular degeneration, its symptoms, causes and a series of interesting facts and figures to start conversations about what causes blindness.
  • KS3 suggested lesson ideas in the areas of Art and Design, Science and Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) as follows:
  • Art: exercises to help children understand and empathise with people affected by the condition by visualising the impact central sight loss would have in the way they interact with their everyday environment
  • Science: Ideas and information on how to incorporate macular degeneration into science lessons and the study of the eye.
  • PSHE: A lesson plan to explore the link between smoking and blindness and the emotional and social implications sight loss can have for people
  • Film making competitiontools – a guide on how the Is it real? film competition can be incorporated into lessons. In this competition children are encouraged to develop a 16 second film inspired by a series of quotes abouthow people with the condition see the world.
  • Make your own simulation specs –a maker’s pack for children to create their own simulation specs and truly understand how it feels to have macular degeneration.
  • Stop smoking hints and tips – information and facts to help children, friends or a family member to stop smoking.

The campaign was devised in collaboration with Commonland, the design research specialist and was the result of workshops to explore children’s understanding of macular degeneration.

George Lee, founder of Commonland, said: “Young people don’t like being told what to do and traditional health warnings rarely work. During our research we realised most young children do not know about the link between smoking and blindness. Working closely with Macular Society we wanted to engageyoung peoplein the experience of macular degeneration by sparking their curiosity and empathy for people with the conditionin a format they would feel compelled to share with others.”

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Macular Society - Tim Goddard, Public Relations Officer, on 01264 321987

Notes to editors:

  1. The Macular Society is the specialist UK charity for people with all types of macular condition. It has more than 15,000 members making it the biggest patient group in the sight loss sector. The Macular Society provides free information and support services to people with macular conditions and has 300 local peer support groups around the UK. It funds research and campaigns for better care.
  1. Macular diseases cause loss of central vision making it difficult to read, drive or recognise faces. The most common form is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Nearly 600,000 people in this country have sight loss because of AMD, making it the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK. There is no cure for macular disease although the progress of some forms can be slowed with drugs injected into the eye.
  1. Vivo is the UK's leading web-based rewards platform.Vivo enables schools and colleges to set up a powerful learning loop which empowers teachers, motivates students and involves parents in their child's progress. From primary school right through to college, Vivo sets a powerful precedent for positive behaviour and personal growth.

98% of schools believe that Vivo has had a positive effect on academic performance, motivation, attendance and behaviour. As well as this, 33,000 students said that Vivo made them feel more "valued" and "respected".

Vivo currently has 1.4 million registered users and has been sold to 650 schools – that's 1 in 5 secondary schools in the UK.