National Audience For
Anti-Smoking Message
John Miller’s one-man mission
to help children to steer clear
of smoking is finally reaching a
national audience. We featured
John in Issue 4, and told you about
his DVD which warns school kids
of some of the potential long-term
dangers they’ll be facing up to if
they start smoking.
In June I took part in making a
training DVD for The Royal Liverpool
and Royal Preston Hospitals
called ‘Raising Awareness of Neck
Breathers’ which recorded our
fears and how we would like to
be treated etc. I met some lovely
people whose thoughts and fears
were the same as mine,which was
comforting as I thought it was only
me.
Through all this ‘Lary thingy’ I have
met some grand people, Jack for
example, who suggested we should
go carol singing. We’d start off with
‘Silent Night’ and then go on to
karaoke to sing ‘Words don’t come
easy!’ With friends like that who
needs to be miserable? ?
John knows only too well. He
started smoking in his teens, and
now he’s got a stoma to show for it.
His video tells kids the whole story
– with nothing left out. He answers
all their questions – and he tackles
anything and everything they want
to know. Best of all, John lays it all
out in language they’ll understand.
It’s a hard-hitting message with lots
of heart. And it makes kids sit up
and take notice.
The DVD was John’s first step in
taking his message to a national
audience. He’d already done the
rounds in his native Northumbria,
attending schools, leaving kids with
the facts and letting them make
up their own minds. Once he’d
recorded one of his presentations
he knew he could make it available
to schools all over the country. But
the easiest way to do that was to get
it online. ? continued on page 12
Summer 2013 | THE VOICE
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