Von Behrens program includes an hour-long presentation with a question and answer period for the students. He will visit schools in Plentywood, Wolf Point, Malta, Havre, Shelby, Sunburst, Browning, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Whitefish, Darby, Corvallis and Florence.
He will be in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish schools Thursday including Kalispell Middle School at 8 a.m., Columbia Falls High School at 10:15 a.m., and Whitefish Middle School at 1 p.m.
Von Behrens, now 30, began using spit tobacco at age 13. By the time he was 17 he had developed oral cancer.
To save his life Von Behrens, from Illinois, underwent 34 surgeries that resulted in the removal of his lower teeth and jawbone, loss of half his tongue and neck muscle, and having his face patched with skin and muscle from his leg.
Twelve percent of Montana men use spit tobacco, a rate twice the national average, according to Jason Swant, program manager for the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program.
"What is more alarming is that 22 percent of Montana senior high school boys are regular spit tobacco users," Swant says, adding that those who use spit tobacco are 50 times more likely to develop oral cancer than those who do not.
Von Behrens has been telling his story for nine years to help educate youth nationwide about the real-life consequences of spit tobacco addiction.
"If I had known then what I know now, I never would have put a dip in my mouth," says Von Behrens. "Spit tobacco seemed harmless, but it has ruined my life."
Hosted by the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and local tobacco use prevention programs, Von Behrens will bring his personal survival story to Montana students as part of a month-long focus on preventing and reducing spit tobacco addiction.
"Spit tobacco is often falsely perceived as a safe alternative to smoking," says Swant. "Gruen's story powerfully demonstrates that spit tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking, but rather a dangerous and potentially lethal choice."
For more information: Jason Swant, 406-465-6671.
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