My Throwback Thursday Picture Book PSA

Don’t Start

There’s a title for you in the midst of New Year’s Resolutions!

I found Don’t Start at thrift store in November and I knew instantly who would be getting this little book for Christmas.

I love the sneak peak back into the not so distant past of vintage children’s books. Sometime it’s a giggle, sometimes a feeling of nostalgia, sometimes wonder, sometimes a feeling of place and time.

There’s a little bit of history tucked into the stories. Sometimes you see just a little glimpse in the illustrations. And sometimes you get a real history lesson from the story and the pictures, such as A Book of Satellites For You or in this case Don’t Start.   

The kids in this book learn about the dangers of smoking -A direct danger for their parents who smoke and an indirect danger to them from, what the book calls, sidestream smoke. My mother-in-law (a nurse) and I laughed at the strange term for what we know of as secondhand smoke. Maybe the first of the terminology from the 80s? I was curious about the history of smoking and the discovered dangers so I did a little research.

Right there at the top of the page on Cancer.org from the American Cancer Society under a section titled Secondhand Smoke is the phrase sidestream smoke.

 “Sidestream smoke – smoke from the lighted end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar”

 “Since 1964, 34 seperate US Surgeon General’s reposrts have been written to make the public aware of the health issues linked to tobacco and SHS.”

-American Cancer Society

I’m learning something new from the old.