Think of it as a king-sized reminder of smoking's dangerous allure. The Quilt Project is a hands-on tobacco teaching tool aimed at teen-agers. The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency asked students to donate T-shirts with cigarette-brand logos on them. In exchange, they received "healthy" shirts advocating smoke-free living. The donated shirts were then fashioned into two king-sized quilts.

"We got the idea (for the project) from branding, like cattle branding," said Donna Phillips, with Health Services Tobacco Education Program. "Why are cattle branded? For ownership and slaughter. That's what happens when you smoke, too. You are branded."

The quilts, one from teen-donated shirts and another from adult shirts, will be used in tobacco education programs throughout the county.

Students from Somerset, Ustach and Roosevelt middle schools donated shirts for the project in February and March. Volunteers from the Senior Center began the quilting in April.

Now all the sewing is complete. Students will help put the finishing touches on both quilts. Along the edge of the teen quilt will be alarming facts and statistics about smoking. And in empty squares on the adult quilt will be photos of people devastated by smoking.

"Once we put on the pictures, it will be a lot better," said Somerset eighth-grader Amber Qualls. "Now it looks too pretty."

Large squares from T-shirts with the Marlboro Man, Joe Camel and other brand names dominate the quilts. For teens involved in the program, it was a dramatic reminder of the lengths people go to when smoking.

"Think about all the Marlboro dollars and Camel bucks people saved to get this stuff," said Somerset eighth-grader Matt Orth. "It shows how many packs people go through."

The teen quilt has pockets from the T-shirts sewn on as well. The pockets will be used to hide prizes and facts for interactive presentations.

"This really brings the message to life, rather than reading page 10 and answering questions," said Dianne Changnon, a Somerset health instructor. "This is really hands on."

Staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at 578-2284.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee.