transcript: Cowboy Ted on Channel 9 News

(Female newscaster in studio saying) School is out still for the summer. And learning first hand the dangers of tobacco, Doug meets the teacher doling out the message. Hi Doug.

(Video of male newscaster) Good Morning Robin. Good to see you.

Robin: You too.

(Video of newscaster with male guest)

Doug Warner: We are here with Cowboy Ted as he is known. He travels the entire country. Cowboy Ted from Utah and he’s here in Oklahoma to meet with a group of youth right here in Oklahoma City called Students Working Against Tobacco, SWAT. Tell me a little bit about what you are going to be talking about to these kids this weekend.

Cowboy Ted: I’m actually going to be talking with them about working with their peers to try and encourage people to avoid the use of tobacco. We’re actually talking to them about trying to get tobacco out of the sport of rodeo. We have approached rodeo on a national level and a state level to see if they can get rid of the tobacco sponsorship and make it more family friendly and that’s what the students are doing.

Doug Warner: I know you were talking to me just a short time ago that it’s a big problem certainly not only in the cities, but even a greater problem in the rural areas. Kids well under the age of 18 are out there trying it and using it and hey maybe even some of the adults are getting the message at least when it comes to cigarette smoking and you feel like there’s still a huge problem when it comes to the youth, these teenagers in these rural areas.

Cowboy Ted: Yeah. A lot of them still believe that spit tobacco is safe for them and smoking, which it’s not. Actually the mortality rates from spit tobacco and oral cancers are even less likely to recover than from lung cancer or heart disease and things like that. And we’re finding that kids that are 13, 14, 15 years of age are able to get tobacco from an older person that somebody bought it for them when they were a youth.

Doug Warner: We were talking that one of the members of SWAT who was also here for this morning has given me an education somewhat in that we’ve always heard about the warnings on cigarettes but the warnings on smokeless tobacco was somewhat prompted by the death of teenager down in Talihina right here in Oklahoma back in the mid 80’s. What is it going to take? We see the photos on tv. We see the mouths and the cancers. What’s it going to take short of those pictures and the warnings on the can or a pack of cigarettes to make these kids understand?

Cowboy Ted: Well that’s part of my deal. I’m hoping that some of us can step up as role models and say smart cowboys don’t use tobacco. It’s ok to not use tobacco. For years that was kind of the credo of a cowboy. You had to see the can in his pocket and the pinch in his lip. And now we are trying to say hey be healthy and your career is going to last longer and your health is going to last longer whether it be rodeo or any kind of type of cowboy thing like ranching. So we are trying to reach out to the kids. Like with the SWAT program. Have them reach out to the kids. Do it peer to peer and talk about some of the dangers, but also talk about the positive aspects of being healthy and that you don’t have to do it to be healthy. We kind of say smart cowboys don’t use tobacco.

Doug Warner: Tell you what we are going to do. I know we are running out of time. I am going to get web site information from you about how folks can go about contacting him and link it to our web site at Newsok.com. So you can get more information a little bit later today. Robin back to you.

Robin: Alright Doug we appreciate it. And for information on how you can get involved in Students Working Against Tobacco, the number is there on your screen 1-866-4-OKSWAT. We’re back with more news, weather and traffic after this.

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