Mystery of The 6th Grade

This is not a film about how smoking is bad for you. It's also not a film that tells people to stop smoking. This is a film about a mystery. And this mystery begins with the most fanatical group of anti-smokers out there: The 6th grade Which of you never want to start smoking? Everyone. And why not? It can make you ill. I'll be happy if I reach 35. After that it's all a bonus. You can get lung cancer and I don't want that. You always hear stories about people that have been smoking for 30 years. Well, my grandfather died of lung cancer. My father's entire family had cancer. All of them. And no one died. The strange thing is that right now, you are all convinced you'll never start smoking. But in a couple of years a large number of you will. Of the thirty children in this 6th grade ten will be smoking in five years time. And of those ten, half will die from smoking related illnesses. That means that of the 105,000 children currently in the 6th grade 17,500 will die from smoking. That's one in six. I was fourteen when I smoked my first cigarette. Thirteen. Thirteen. Fifteen. Fourteen. Sixteen. And this is the big mystery. How can the 6th grade be so sensible now, and yet forget everything within a couple of years. What happens to the 6th grade when they get to high school? Puberty. To unravel this mystery we need to take a look at a teenager's brain. Because that changes radically during puberty. The area of the brain that controls emotions, that wants to try things out and take risks develops quickly and is extremely active during puberty. But the part of the brain that controls behavior, that asks if something is a good idea, and that understands longterm consequences grows far slower. That part of the brain is not fully developed until you're 25 years old. Which is why the 6th grade is about to start a particularly difficult period in their lives. A period in which they're going to try all sorts of things. Including smoking. A period which they cannot control. But if the 6th grade can't help themselves, what are grownups doing to help? But I don't smoke. Anti-smoking campaigns. Are you going to start smoking? Talk about smoking. But I don't smoke. Do you think that these kind of campaigns work? No.No. Not at all. Every anti smoking campaign which targets teenagers has the exact opposite effect. It only makes smoking more exciting, more interesting. Maybe we should ask ourselves whether anti-smoking campaigns are effective at all. What else are we doing to help the 6th grade not to start smoking. Parliament has voted to raise the legal age limit of smoking to 18 years. Raise the legal age limit to 18 years. Do you think it helps to raise the legal age limit to 18 years? No. You're not sixteen yet, right? No. I'm fourteen. Fifteen. Also fifteen. The survey. This is a small camera, and we're going to hide in the side pocket of this bag. Good afternoon. One pack of Lucky Strike, please. A pack of Gauloises Red, please. Can I see your ID? Yes. You're not sixteen, are you? No. But you're still trying to buy cigarettes. What kind do you want, son? Marlboro Lights, please. Just this once, alright? Now get out of here. Thanks. And? Did it work? Yes. Four out of five. That's how easy it is. Raising the age limit also doesn't work. How then do we prevent the 6th grade from becoming addicted to nicotine? A significant number of studies tell us that there are only two things that really work. Raising the price of a pack of cigarettes to ten euros and reducing the number of places selling cigarettes. A higher price per pack and fewer places to buy cigarettes. Two measures we can take together to help the 6th grade to never start smoking. Because they won't make it by themselves. Help the 6th grade. Sign our petition at rookalarm.nl or share this video with everyone you know. On the next episode: But I really do think that's how they approach it. They have to, because if you don't get teenagers to start smoking between the ages of fifteen and twenty one, then you're going to miss out on a whole generation of lifelong clients. So from a marketing standpoint they're forced to get kids to start smoking as early as possible because then they have a much higher lifetime value. I mean, you're not going to get people who are over fifty to start smoking.