THUNDER BAY -- Students at a local high school were shocked and surprised to see more than 100 of their peers lay seemingly lifeless on the ground.
The 103 students, representing the number of people who die every day in Canada due to tobacco use, were on the ground for five minutes Thursday at Westgate as part of Drop Dead Day to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco.
"We're not going after the smokers themselves," 16-year-old Cole Bour said. "We're going after the companies. We're trying to demoralize the companies."
The stunt was also kept a secret from the rest of the school to try and grab as much attention as possible, something Teagan Venables, 15, thought was a success given how many students were shocked when they were walking to class and saw the people on the ground.
Every 10 minutes two teens take up smoking in Canada.
"That's two too many," she said. "We're just trying to raise awareness."
Teacher David McCallum said in his 20 years on the job he's seen a bit of a decrease in student tobacco use, estimated at up to 15 per cent in high schools in the province.
"Not significant enough education-wise for what we know tobacco does to us," he said.
But seeing the more than 100 students participate in Drop Dead Day, he thinks they're starting to get the message.
